Leave the ice palace monument in Phalen Park

As a lifelong East Sider I am confused as to why so many people think the ice palace monument located in Phalen Park is no longer accessible and should be moved to Rice Park. After reading Joe Soucheray’s column I went to Phalen and had no trouble getting to the monument even with road construction in and around the park. The monument was right where it has always been and exactly where it belongs.

It is somewhat understandable that a person unfamiliar with the park might have difficulty finding the monument but that has nothing to do with Phalen Drive no longer connecting to Highway 61. Related Articles Letters: He calls that a ‘great job’?

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If trespassing, stealing and shutting down speech is what you stand for … Tainted.

The real problem is a total lack of information regarding the monument’s existence, much less its location. There is absolutely nothing about it on the City of St. Paul’s Phalen Park web page, or on the Winter Carnival website, or on any maps of the park. There is also no signage in the park pointing toward the monument. This would be helpful because the monument is partially hidden by trees. These are all very fixable problems.

We owe Charlie Hall a huge debt of gratitude for heading the 1986 ice palace project and again for creating the impressive monument that honors the people who constructed it. I agree that both are part of Winter Carnival history, as is Phalen Park itself. But I totally disagree that the monument must be moved to Rice Park in order for people to see it.

The Winter Carnival is more than just a downtown celebration. Don’t take this monument away from us. It is a matter of East Side pride.

Greg Cosimini, Saint Paul