It was Election Day, but it looked more like Christmas at Rice Park in downtown Saint Paul on Tuesday.

Bystanders craned their necks upward to watch a crew assemble a 40-foot artificial holiday tree for a lighting ceremony on Friday.

It’s long been a tradition to light up the real trees of Saint Paul’s historic park to celebrate the holidays and illuminate our winter, but this will only be the second year that the Salvation Army’s “Tree of Lights” will be the sparkly focal point in Rice Park.

First Avenue and Wrecktangle have a hit on their hands.

The restaurant is a partnership between First Avenue, which manages The Palace, and Wrecktangle Pizza, which has three Minneapolis locations. The interior has been completely transformed from the dingy bar that previously occupied it. Though a long, rectangular bar is still front and center, it’s surrounded by walnut mid-century-modern-style bar stools and smart, dark wood banquet tables. The walls are painted a deep teal, and little shelves full of plants brighten things up. In short, it’s a pretty, comfortable space.

The main focus of the menu is pizza, of course — Detroit-style deep dish with crispy-cheese-laden edges. There are a lot of Detroit-style pizza places in the Twin Cities right now; it’s sort of the smash burger of the pizza world. And I’d argue that Wrecktangle’s is the most consistent and best of the bunch.

Lost Fox Lowertown is a cozy cafe with a delicious restaurant and bar built in! They host fun events such as drag bingo, exhibit local art, and offer specials for game days and more! ☕🥂

See what they're all about: lostfoxlowertown.com