World’s largest Monopoly board to get a much-needed makeover

Monopoly within the Park, the world’s largest Monopoly board, will get spruced up Saturday as a part of an enormous volunteer cleanup effort on the Guadalupe River Park’s Discovery Meadow in downtown San Jose. And it might positively use the TLC.

The 930 square-foot granite recreation board formally opened to a lot fanfare in July 2002 after a number of years of planning. Again then, a nonprofit known as Buddies of San Jose maintained the board and rented it out to teams that needed to play the sport, full with large cube and recreation tokens. That group appears to have pale away previously decade. In the meantime, the board’s paint has dulled and been scuffed up as 1000’s of individuals have walked throughout it.

Monopoly within the Park, the world’s largest Monopoly board, will likely be a part of a cleanup effort on the Guadalupe River Park’s Discovery Meadow in downtown San Jose on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Space Information Group)

Mr. Monopoly stands at Monopoly within the Park in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Prime Trumps USA is asserting a brand new San Jose model of Monopoly, licensed by Hasbro, on the metropolis’s Monopoly within the Park — the world’s largest board. (Shae Hammond/Bay Space Information Group)

PHOTO BY DON FERIA/SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWSFrom left, Kyler Barlow, 5, (cq) and brother Keenan Barlow, 9 (cq), roll oversize cube on the San Jose Stunning twentieth anniversary at Discovery Meadow, Monopoly within the Park in downtown San Jose. SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 2006.

One of many members taking part in Monopoly within the Park March 27, 2010 in San Jose in the course of the filming of a part of of “Under the Boardwalk, ” a documentary in regards to the board recreation, walks towards an area after rolling the cube. The life-size Monopoly board, etched in sidewalk in Discovery Meadow, is the one one within the nation. (Pauline Lubens/San Jose Mercury Information)

A recreation is underway filming at Monopoly within the Park March 27, 2010 throughout filming of part of “Under the Boardwalk,” a documentary in regards to the board recreation. (Pauline Lubens/San Jose Mercury Information)

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Monopoly within the Park, the world’s largest Monopoly board, will likely be a part of a cleanup effort on the Guadalupe River Park’s Discovery Meadow in downtown San Jose on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Space Information Group)

Increase

The Monopoly board is simply a part of Saturday’s cleanup effort, organized by the workplace of Mr. Cleanup himself, Mayor Matt Mahan, together with Beautify SJ, the Trash Punx and the town’s parks division. Volunteers will likely be portray, spreading mulch, beautifying the park’s tributes to San Jose’s sister cities and dealing on two neighborhood artwork initiatives.

In a means, this massive cleanup is like washing your automotive earlier than an enormous street journey. Subsequent month, there’s an enormous live performance happening at Discovery Meadow, so let’s hope that loads of this good work doesn’t get undone.

All of the work is scheduled to happen from 9 to 11:30 a.m., and you’ll signal as much as volunteer at tinyurl.com/8-2-discovery-meadow.

THE SHOW WILL GO-GO ON: Sickness amongst its forged members has pressured Metropolis Lights Theater Firm to cancel three extra performances of “Head Over Heels” — its summer season musical that includes the music of Eighties band the Go-Go’s. The present opened July 17 however needed to cancel performances the next weekend. That has prolonged to reveals scheduled for Thursday and Friday nights and the Saturday matinee.

“Our artists are total troupers and are working to support each other, but it’s tough with a large-cast musical full of moving parts,” Metropolis Lights Advertising Director Rebecca Wallace mentioned. “We’re grateful for the audience support as we endeavor to help our artists be healthy.”

Whereas it’s been an actual bummer for ticketholders, Metropolis Lights is planning on getting the present again on stage for Saturday evening’s 8 p.m. efficiency. It runs by way of Aug. 24 so there ought to nonetheless be loads of possibilities to see it. Go to www.cltc.org for up to date showtimes and tickets.

ART AND ABOUT: After taking July off, the South First Fridays artwork stroll is again in full pressure in downtown San Jose this week. As all the time, galleries within the South First Space (SoFA) — roughly from San Carlos road south to Reed — will likely be open late. Others opening late downtown embody Chopsticks Alley and Works/San Jose at 38 S. Second St., Artwork Ark at 1035 S. Sixth St., Fuse Presents and Machu Picchu Gallery of the Americas, each at 199 Martha St.