In a period before radio and television advertising, Atlantic City was considered, by no less august a publication than The New York Times, the best location in the country for marketing a product to a national audience. This fact was not lost on one of America's most successful businessmen Henry J. Heinz.

Even on his first visit to Atlantic City in 1880, H. J. Heinz was impressed by the large number of visitors at the resort. Heinz had done well exhibiting his food products to huge crowds at World's Fairs. Here in Atlantic City he saw the potential for Worlds Fair attendance numbers year round! In 1898, he opened Heinz Pier providing respite from Atlantic City's dizzying pace. The pier offered a sun parlor with reclining chairs and writing desks, a demonstration kitchen with free hot and cold food samples, and a museum displaying Heinz' treasured art collection. Of course, no visitor left the pier without a complimentary Heinz pickle pin.

The marketing opportunities Atlantic City afforded were not lost upon other enterprises. The Underwood Company for years attracted large crowds to its "World's Largest Typewriter" on the Garden Pier. In 1932, Goodyear had a truck tote a 12 foot tall rubber tire around the city - billing it as (what else?) "The World's Largest Tire." At night thousands of bulbs outlined elaborate signs advertising everything from razor blades to cigarettes to corsets.

The opportunity to play with large sums of money in financially hard times certainly contributed to the popularity of MONOPOLY. But, an equally certain contributing factor to the game's popularity was the larger-than-life reputation of Atlantic City.

MONOPOLY was born in the Depression, conceived and designed by Charles B. Darrow, an out-of-work salesman from Philadelphia, who, in better times, had vacationed in Atlantic city. After Parker Brothers, America's premier game company declined to produce MONOPOLY in 1934, Darrow paid to have a limited number of games made for that Christmas season. At Wanamaker's in Philadelphia and F.A.O. Schwarz in New York MONOPOLY sold out. By 1935 Parker Brothers reconsidered, and was producing more than 20,000 games per week. To this day MONOPOLY remains the most popular board game in the world.