{"id":3354,"date":"2012-10-17T16:51:38","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T20:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/?p=3354"},"modified":"2017-11-19T10:04:03","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T15:04:03","slug":"the-worlds-only-corn-palace-in-mitchell-south-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/the-worlds-only-corn-palace-in-mitchell-south-dakota\/","title":{"rendered":"The world’s only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a real piece of Americana, a road trip to Mitchell, South Dakota is sure to be memorable.\u00a0 Located in southeastern South Dakota, Mitchell is about one-hour, due west of Sioux Falls along I-90. You need to get off the highway to see its main attraction at the corner of N. Main and W. 6th, but that two-mile detour will be well worth it.<\/p>\n

\"Corn<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mitchell Corn Palace is a building like no other in the world.\u00a0 With Moorish onion domes \u00a0and minarets atop a building covered in corn cobs, this is an ever changing piece of artwork.\u00a0 Each year, the murals are redesigned and replaced with fresh corn. The artwork has been done annually by local artist Cherie Ramsdell since 2003.<\/p>\n

\"Corn<\/a>The huge mural patterns are drawn onto a black background and then corn artists begin filling the \u201ccorn-by-number\u201d shapes with any of 12 different colored corn cobs grown especially for the Corn Palace. The cobs are split with specially adapted circular saws, nailed in place with air-nailers and trimmed with sharp hatchets.<\/p>\n

3,000 bushels of rye, oat heads and sour dock (native grasses) are used along with 275,000 ears of corn to adorn the building. The annual process of redecorating the palace goes on all summer long.<\/p>\n

\"Interior<\/a>Built in 1892 to attract settlers to South Dakota, the Corn Palace is now home to the city hall and a large arena \u2013 home for Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers and Mitchell High School Kernels basketball teams.\u00a0 (What else would you call your home town team, other than the Kernels?) It is also the site of concerts, trade shows & stage shows featuring some of the country\u2019s best entertainers.<\/p>\n

Open all year, hours change with the seasons, so be sure to check ahead at their Website: www.cornpalace.com<\/a>. \u00a0Admittance is always free.\u00a0Right across the street is the official Corn Palace Gift Shop with a raft of \u201ccorny\u201d gift ideas. Just outside, you can pose for a picture with \u201cCornelius\u201d the bigger than life mascot for the Corn Palace.<\/p>\n