|
The World's Only Corn
Place is Mitchell's Premier tourist attraction. Some 500,000
tourists come from around the nation each year to see the uniquely
designed corn murals. The city's first Corn Palace was build in 1897 as
a way to prove to the world that South Dakota had a healthy agricultural
climate.
Eight years before the turn of the 20th century -1892- when Mitchell,
South Dakota was a small, 12-year-old city of 3,000 inhabitants - the
WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE was established on the city’s Main Street.
During its over 100 years of existence, it has become known worldwide
and now attracts more than a half a million visitors annually. The
palace was conceived as a gathering place where city residents and their
rural neighbors could enjoy a fall festival with extraordinary stage
entertainment – a celebration to climax a crop-growing season and
harvest. This tradition continues today with the annual Corn Palace
Festival, August 23rd – August 27th, 2006. By 1905
the success of the Corn Palace had been assured and a new Palace was to
be built, but this building soon became too small. In 1919, the
decision to build a third Corn Palace was made. This one was to be
permanent and more purposeful than its predecessors. The present
building was completed in 1921, just in time for the Corn Palace
Festivities. That winter Mitchell hosted its first boys state
basketball tournament. The building was considered to have the finest
basketball arena in the upper Midwest area.
In the 1930’s, steps were taken to recapture the
artistic decorative features of the building and minarets and kiosks of
Moorish design were added restoring the appearance of early day Corn
Palace.
Today, the Corn Palace is more than the home of the
festival or a point of interest of tourists. It is a practical
structure adaptable to many purposes. Included among its many uses are
industrial exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, proms,
graduations and other events of civic interest. Among its most
important winter uses is a basketball arena for Mitchell High School,
Mitchell Christian School, Dakota Wesleyan University as well as
district, regional and state basketball tournaments.
The Palace is redecorated each year with naturally
colored corn and other grains and native grasses to make it “the
agricultural show-place of the world”. We currently use 13 different
colors or shades of corn to decorate the Corn Palace: red, brown, black,
blue, white, orange, calico, yellow and now we have green corn! A
different theme is chosen each year, and murals are designed to reflect
that theme. Ear by ear the corn is nailed to the Corn Palace to create
a scene. The decorating process usually starts in late May with the
removal of the rye and dock. The corn murals are stripped at the end of
August and the new ones are completed by the first of October.
Cherie Ramsdell is the current panel designer. The 2006 theme is
“Salute to Rodeo” and these murals look simply a-maize-ing. The
Corn Palace
Stampede Rodeo celebrated 35 years and is one of South Dakota's
premier rodeos. Every third weekend in July thousands of people gather
here to attend the nightly PRCA rodeo performances, as well as the many
other entertaining activities that are provided throughout Rodeo Week. |
ugh time and
discover pioneer education in an 1885 one room school house. Take a
'time capsule' trip through life on the prairie from the time of the
earlier Native peoples, through to the Great Depression & drought of the
1930's. Pre-arranged guided tours are available for groups at no extra
charge. "It is impossible to know where we are going, until we discover
where we've been". Discover Art, History & Culture at the Dakota
Discovery Museum.