Although the Carnival takes place each year, an ice palace is not always constructed. However in January 2004, St. Paul build an ice palace, in part for the NHL All-Star Hockey game which was held in the nearby Xcel Energy center.
This was the first ice palace in 12 years and the 14th constructed since the 1880's. It was built from 27,000 blocks of ice. These 500 pound blocks were cut from Lake Phalen in St. Paul.
The palace was 240 feet in length and had 5 turrets, the tallest of which, at 75 feet high was nearly 8 stories tall.
A high-tech sound and light show kept the colors of the walls changing with the music. The palace grounds covered 5 acres and was encircled by walls of ice and 6 archway entrances.
Inside the grounds was enough room for 8,000 people. There were ice thrones, an ice skating rink, entertainment stages, a fire and ice fountain and carved ice sculptures.
Visitors were allowed to walk inside the walls of the ice palace and many discovered a way to commemorate their visit: they warmed pennies in their hands and then stuck them on the walls of ice, where they immediately froze in the below-zero temperatures. People used the pennies to spell out their names and words like "hello!" and "St. Paul" on the blocks making up the interior of the palace.
Even though it was around minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit on this night, crowds of people came to marvel at the ice palace and dance to the music inside its frozen walls.
