December 31st naturally marked the last day of 2012, but also was the first day of the first ever Ice Castle at the Mall of America in Bloomington.

The castle, which resembles more of a fort, stands over thirty feet tall at its highest point and spans over 2 acres. However this pales in comparison to some past ice palaces and castles Minnesota has seen at the St. Paul winter carnival.

The 1992 Ice Palace for example, stood 152 feet tall. Nonetheless considering the Winter Carnival hasn’t constructed a palace since 2004, Mall of America’s first attempt at frozen royal dominion is a welcome idea.

The Ice Castle, being only thirty feet at its highest point may not be able to claim any sort of crown for height or stature, but it does reserve some recognition for its uniqueness.

Since the first Ice Palace in St. Paul built in 1886, most palaces and castles have been constructed of blocks of ice carved out from local lakes, but the Mall of America’s Ice Castle is constructed entirely from icicles. The icicles were made from four million gallons of water and then fused together to create the structure. The structure and making of the Ice Castle is definitely alluring, but what does that leave for the experience?

Upon arrival, visitors enter what could be identified as a court yard with a modest snack shack sitting in the far corner and a modern fire pit giving off much needed warmth for all who braved the trip.

The website (www.icecastles.com) states that touring the whole castle takes about thirty minutes, but it quickly becomes apparent that the subzero temperatures and lack of attractions make that unlikely.

Once inside patrons enter into, well basically another court yard with a tower at the center. While the tower isn’t extremely tall, it has enough tight corridors clogged with wannabe photographers (myself included) to give off a shining glimmer of hope that maybe the ten dollar admission fee hasn’t gone to waste. The almost blue tinted pure icicle walls are pretty spectacular and will make for some nice computer and iPhone backgrounds, but just when you feel that you are contacting your inner Philippe Halsman, you exit the tower, into the third courtyard.

In order to spare the boring details, the third court yard leads to a smaller tower, which leads to the final courtyard, and the end of the expedition.

As I jay walked toward Sears in hopes of restoring any sort of sensation in my fingers, I thought about how I really wanted this castle to become something, a Minnesota landmark, or at least something that is talked about in a relatively positive demeanor. Frankly it is just not there yet. Luckily with the workers still shoveling away, a few “under construction” signs and the website’s promise that because of the unique construction, the castle is “constantly growing,” I still had some hope that one day, The Ice Castle at the Mall of America may become something you wrap up your kids in endless sweaters, windbreakers, and parkas for. But for now, you may want to stick to Nickelodeon Universe.