The ice sculpture has returned, this time with a new home.
A well-trodden trail through the snow in the front yard of a residence on St. Paul's Summit Avenue proves that people have found the installation's new location.
The sculpture is made of carved ice blocks strung on metal cables and dangling from a large frame, made to look like an "ice portal." One of the blocks includes a red-tinted heart — an homage to the Valentine's Day iteration of the sculpture, which first popped up on a boulevard near Summit Avenue and S. Griggs Street in early February.
That version had blocks of ice hanging in the shape of a heart, but it was removed last Tuesday when city officials deemed it unsafe. The artist also did not have a permit to install it on park property, said St. Paul Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Clare Cloyd. Crews disassembled the sculpture and returned it to the owner, she said.
But by this weekend, the sculpture had returned in a new location.
The homeowners at 1218 Summit Av. worked with the artist — who wishes to remain anonymous — to install the piece in their front yard.
Now the "ice portal" is displayed in front of their home, over a light that illuminates it.
On Sunday afternoon, several couples walked or ran by the piece, many of them stopping for a photo. A sign set up next to two lawn chairs in the yard informs passersby that the installation is an anonymous gift and that pictures are welcome.
Harris and Lyndsay Cameron planned their walking route on Sunday to see the ice art. They live nearby but had missed the first sculpture.
"It's just nice to see something that is uplifting," Lyndsay Cameron said. "And it was a nice reason to get out of the house."
Several social media posts about the piece echo that sentiment. "This sweet ice sculpture was well worth the cold walk," reads one post. "IT's BACK!!!" read another.
"It's really pretty," Lyndsay Cameron said after snapping her own photo. She knows it's not likely to last when warmer weather comes this week. "But I really hope it'll last for awhile."
Mara Klecker • 612-673-4440
