Saranac Lake Winter Carnival in the Adirondacks

, The Ice Palace

Since its inception in 1897, the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival has been a unique and remarkable celebration, not only for the enthusiasm and imagination that village residents put into the mid-winter festival, but also for the structure that has come to symbolize the carnival, the Ice Palace.

At the end of the 19th century, Saranac Lake was a bustling community, with hundreds of “consumptives” from around the world seeking Dr. E. L. Trudeau’s cure for tuberculosis. At that time, there were no radios, televisions – even no refrigerators. Indirectly, their absence led to the Winter Carnival and, in turn, the Ice Palace.

Without electronic diversions, and faced with long and frigid winters, Saranac Lakers had to depend on their ingenuity for their entertainment. To this end, the Pontiac Club was formed in 1896 to promote outdoor and social activities and, the following year, sponsored the first Winter Carnival.

At this time, the only form of refrigeration was ice blocks cut from local lakes. These blocks were cut, removed and stored in ice houses for warm weather use, of shipped by rail to cities around the Northeast. In a small leap of imagination, ice blocks were utilized as building blocks and in 1898, the Ice Palace was born.
While modern equipment has replaced man- and horsepower, the palace is still constructed in a traditional manner using ice as the solitary structural material. Immediately after Christmas, the ice is kept from an area of Lake Flower known as Pontiac Bay near the future site of the Ice palace. The removal of the insulating snow encourages the ice to grow to acceptable thickness. The actual building process begins about two weeks before the opening day of Winter Carnival.

The ice is partially cut using a saw that was designed and built locally in the 1940’s for the harvesting of refrigeration ice. It is essentially a huge circular saw blade mounted on a sled and driven by a gasoline engine. The saw can cut to a depth of approximately eleven inches. Since the ice often reaches depths in excess of 20 inches, the cutting process must be completed with large hand saws that are again relics of the ice harvesting process. The blocks are floated to an excavator positioned on the shore of Pontiac Bay which transfers the blocks of ice to small tractors. The tractors then place them in locations convenient to the machinery which actually erects the Ice Palace. The 2’ by 4’ blocks are hoisted onto the structure by cranes and “log loaders” and then cemented into position by the crew using a snow/water mixture known as “slush”. As the slush freezes, the block walls become rigid. Ice blocks range in thickness from 12” to 24” and will weigh between 450 and 900 pounds depending on thickness.

The palace design is different each year and generally reflects the theme of the Winter Carnival. A palace is usually 90’ long by 60’ deep and ranges in height from 30’ to 60’. Height is at least partially dependent upon the thickness of the ice blocks being harvested. A small palace requires about 1,000 blocks while a large one requires 3,000 or more. The palace is lit with over 100 colored bulbs using custom light fixtures often buried within its walls. It is generally adorned with brightly colored flags and ice carvings reflecting the carnival theme. Fireworks over the palace take place at the opening and again at the closing of the carnival.

While early palaces were constructed by private contractors, currently they are built by community volunteers and work crews from the local minimum security prison. As many as 75 people may provide sufficient volunteer hours to achieve a one-year membership in the Ice Palace Workers (IPW) Local #101. The volunteers often work for extended periods in sub-zero cold. Numb fingers and cold feet are warmed by the camaraderie of the workers and the support of those providing hot drinks, sandwiches and good-natured banter. As the palace rises, the workers are encouraged by the growing crowds of admirers happily snapping pictures to send to friends and relatives around the country.

Throughout the festivities, the palace stands as the centerpiece of the Winter Carnival and has even served as the site for numerous weddings over the years. The palace stands until the warming sun dictates that it be knocked down for safety reasons. The pile of blocks serves as a reminder of our Winter Carnival until the last one melts away in the beginning of May. By that time, plans are well under way for the next Winter Carnival. Invariably the question arises – “What do you do with it when you are finished with it?” The answer is “We put it back in the lake and take it out again next year.”