As the only corn palace in the world, the Mitchell Corn Palace attracts over 500,000 visitors every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in South Dakota.
The Mitchell Corn Palace is not a palace made of corn, as many assume when hearing its name, but it is almost completely covered with it. The Arab-looking structure is adorned with “Crop art”, specifically murals made from corn and other cereal. Some say it’s the most impressive thing they’ve ever seen, while other refer to it as just a gym covered n corn. I guess it’s just a matter of how much you appreciate agricultural art.
The Mitchell Corn Palce was inaugurated in 1892, as an ingenious way to showcase the fertile lands of South Dakota, and encourage people to move here. Back then it was just a wooden building, but as its popularity kept growing, it suffered several redesigns, and became a national attraction.It also hosts various local events, and the basketball game between Dakota University and Mitchell High.
The murals that decorate both the exterior and the interior of the Mitchell Corn Palace are definitely its most impressive features. While the interior art is changed about once every 10 years, the outside murals are replaced with new ones, every year. Local artist Cherie Ramsdell sketches the murals, every year. Then, his designs are transferred onto giant rolls of tar paper and tacked up the walls, after the old murals are torn down.
The pieces of corn are nailed into place, using the designs for guidance. The corn used is especially grown for this task, using a variety of seeds, to produce different colors. The decoration of Mitchel Corn Palace with grain murals, costs the town of Mitchell $130,000 every year.
