Over lunch today I decided to finally head over and check out the Ice Palace at Rice Park. Growing up in Saint Paul in the 80s, nothing will top the 1986 Ice Palace at Lake Phalen. It was an amazing feat, especially for a young kid. Ever since then there have been a few more Ice Palaces, including a spectacular one in 1992. I was working in the photography field at that time, and some of my prints were bought and enlarged into really cool wall pieces. I need to go back and see if I can find any of those old prints, and get them scanned in digitally before they fade too much.

The current one is cute and quaint, and it’s fun to see, however the advertisements of the trucks in front of it was kinda tacky. It’s cool to see another ice structure though, as it’s something that reminds me of the classic Winter Carnival’s of the past.