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The Frost Ice Bar is coming to Faneuil Hall

Workers from Iceculture, a Canadian ice-sculpting company, trimmed 300-pound blocks of ice for Frost Ice Bar in Faneuil Hall. Barry Chin/Globe STaff

What better publicity for New England’s first ice bar than to be constructed in the middle of a heat wave?

The frosty phenomenon that started in Scandinavia and spread around the world, including to Orlando, Las Vegas, and New York, is set to hit Boston in mid-August when a bar constructed almost entirely of ice – walls, bar stools, even cocktail glasses — opens in Faneuil Hall.

Ice construction specialists from Ontario unloaded a truckload of frozen blocks before dawn Thursday and started putting together the ice in a well-insulated former law office above American Eagle Outfitters. By the time they finish next week, more than 50 tons of ice will have been used to create what its owners say is the world’s largest permanent indoor ice bar.

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The Frost Ice Bar is being opened by the Frost Group, a local company formed in partnership with Boston Duck Tours.

Experiencing the deep freeze won’t be cheap. It’s $19 to get in and $11 for a cocktail. Admission includes the use of insulated capes and gloves; fur-lined boots will set you back another $6. The maximum stay at the bar — kept at a nose-numbing 21 degrees year-round — is just 45 minutes, though general manager Grier Colella said she doesn’t plan on kicking anybody out.

Frost Ice Bar at Faneuil Hall will be kept at a nose-numbing 21 degrees year-round. Barry Chin/Globe Staff/Globe Staff

“We want you to come here, see what we have, and then take in the rest of Boston,” she said.

Despite the 90 plus-degree heat Thursday, no untimely melting incidents were reported. The next shipment of ice is scheduled to arrive Sunday, when the temperature is predicted to retreat to a less threatening 80 degrees.


Katie Johnston can be reached at kjohnston@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @ktkjohnston.