The Ice Mall
Where would you expect to find an ice mall? You might think of Finland where they have in the past had an ice hotel. The whole hotel was made of blocks of ice. You might also consider the Twin cities. At the St. Paul Winter Carnival they use ice in some creative ways. Ice sculptors are works of art. Creative use of ice would have been especially possible this winter with plenty of snow and freezing temperatures. So an ice mall on Lake Calhoun or Lake Phalen. However, an ice mall, so far as I know, was not to be found in either Finland or St. Paul.
No, you would have to come to St, Louis to find an ice mall. Actually the mall is in Crestwood less than two miles from my home. I’ve written of Crestwood court before, which has few stores left. ArtSpace occupies more store fronts than actual stores. Most of the foot traffic in the mall is from mall walkers not mall shoppers.
You see, they seem to be saving on heating costs. So nearly one half of the mall feels like it’s barely heated. It’s necessary to always wear an extra layer of clothes. Yesterday I forgot the extra pullover so I had to wear my heavy leather jacket while walking. In fact, most of the people had their winter jackets on. Some even wore gloves. A few had donned scarves. I noticed a few had winter headgear, but those were younger people who wear it for effect even in the summer when its 90 degrees. So they don’t count.
Today the temperatures are going to get within 10 degrees of normal. We should be having highs of about 50 by now. So if you want to experience the ice mall, you had better hurry to Crestwood court. The ice may melt any week now.
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