Rice Park
Posted by: 
MNSearchers
N 44° 56.677 W 093° 05.826
15T E 492339 N 4976802
Rice Park, a public square since 1849, serves as an outlet for anyone who needs to relax or downtown workers who just want to eat lunch away from their desks.
Waymark Code: WM4272
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 06/26/2008
Views: 61
Make a wish in the giant fountain that dominates one corner of the park. Faced by the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, the main St. Paul Public Library, Landmark Center, and the St. Paul Hotel, the park is a peaceful, shady haven. Free concerts held in the summer are a joy to all. Winter brings the ice sculptures carved for the St. Paul Winter Carnival; you can watch the carvers in action.
The scene of circuses, clelebrations and concerts and seven years older than New Yorks famous Central Park, this land was designated a public square in 1849 by John R. Irvine, a territorial pioneer and Henry M Rice, territorial delegate an United States senator after statehood. Rice, for whom the park was named, was a native of Vermont who arrived at Fort Snelling in 1839. In addition to the offices he held, he was acstive in the fur trade and served as an intermediary in treaty negotiations with the Sioux and Chippewa Indians.
The park was little used and largely uncared for until 1860 when Mayor John S. Prince procured shade trees to enhance the grounds. In 1872 summer evening concerts were initiated by the Great Western Band and a year later a pair of squirrels was given for the park as a gesture of goodwill by the chief of police in Memphis Tennessee. Among the many notable events celebrated in Rice Park was the 1883 reception held to mark the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The fete was attended by President Chester a Arthur, General Ulysses S. Grant and Gneral William T. Sherman.
Marker Type:: City
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Visit Instructions:
A photo of the 'Marker' or 'Plaque' is required to identify the location, plus a picture of the 'Historic Site'.