Located in St. Paul, MN, Rice Park is a lovely space open to the public.
There is a fountain, a bandstand, sculptures of Peanuts characters, and, in the winter, an ice rink in this park. During the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, an ice palace is constructed in Rice Park on certain years.
The Saint Paul Hotel (1910) to the east, the Landmark Center (1902) to the north, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (1922) to the west, and the George Latimer Central Library (1917) to the south all constitute the boundaries of Rice Park.
The land for this park was granted to the city of St. Paul in 1849 by St. Paul financier John Irvine and Senator Henry Mower Rice of the territorial Minnesota. Early settlers used the park’s area for grazing animals like sheep and drying clothes.
When the land was finally recognized as a park, a German florist offered to cultivate flowers and vegetables there in exchange for upkeep. In 1862, St. Paul mayor John S. Prince donated trees to the park, in 1872, a fountain and bandstand were constructed, and in 1883, electric lights were erected.Because of its central location, it served as a meeting spot for people from many walks of life, including gay men on sex-related cruising expeditions after dark.
The Women’s Institute of Saint Paul oversaw the park’s makeover in 1965, when a statue of a girl by Wisconsin artist Alonzo Hauser was installed as its focal point. Benches and walkways were replaced in the 1980s, and the fountain area was reimagined in the 2000s. Wider walkways, new benches, and updated café furniture were just some of the results of a $2.3 million upgrade in the 2010s that also saw a new electrical grid and stormwater collection and irrigation system installed. Rice Park is an oasis of calm in the middle of the city. Whether it’s a meatball parmigiana or a bahn mi, Rice Rice Park is a wonderful spot to relax thanks to its beautiful fountain, plentiful trees for shade, and comfortable chairs. Lights adorn every tree in Rice Park and ice sculptures sparkle during the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, transforming the park into a winter wonderland.
The Saint Paul Hotel
St Paul Tree Care