The countdown to the first St. Paul Winter Carnival Ice Palace since 2004 starts now.
Tuesday, as King Boreas, Klondike Kate and a couple dozen construction workers and St. Paul Winter Carnival officials watched, an excavator lowered a 500-pound cornerstone block of ice into place, starting construction of what is to be a seven-story ice palace in Rice Park.
By the time the carnival opens Jan. 25th, officials say 5,000 blocks weighing a combined 3.5 million pounds will be in place, molded into a six-tower iconic image of how St. Paul handles winter — an image officials hope Super Bowl cameras broadcast worldwide again and again on the day of the big game.
"St. Paul knows how to do winter better than any other place on Earth," said Rebecca Noecker, the City Council Member who represents downtown.
The structure will feature six towers, with two soaring up to 70 feet and flanked by four others representing the princes of the four winds in carnival lore.
Officials announced the $800,000, privately funded project two weeks ago, bowing to the overwhelming unhappiness people expressed after they announced late last year that there wasn't enough money to do a massive Super Bowl-coordinated castle.
Since then, a number of sponsors stepped forward and officials decided they could do a smaller, but still glitzy, palace. To help pay for it, they are tapping into public sentiment by offering a chance to sponsor an ice block for $25. To sponsor an ice block, go to wintercarnival.com. Officials say they've raised more than $600,000 of their budget.
"This is about the people of St. Paul saying 'We're going to do this thing,' " said Dan Stoltz, chairman of the committee to create the ice palace.
