Corn Palace facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Corn Palace |
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Street view of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota
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| General information | |
| Type | multi-purpose arena/facility |
| Completed | 1921 (dome and minarets added in 1937) |
| Owner | City of Mitchell |
| Management | City of Mitchell |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 26.2 m (86 ft) (flagpole) |
| Roof | 20.7 m (68 ft) (dome) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Floor area | 4,042.2 m2 (43,510 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Rapp & Rapp |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 3,200 |
The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota. The building is decorated with crop art; the murals and designs covering the building are made from corn and other grains. It is a popular tourist destination, visited by between 200,000 and 500,000 people each year.
The Corn Palace serves the community as a venue for concerts, sports events, exhibits and other community events. Each year, the Corn Palace is celebrated with a citywide festival, the Corn Palace Festival. Historically it was held at harvest time in September, but recently it has been held at the end of August. Other popular annual events include the Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo in July and the Corn Palace Polka Festival in September. It is also home to the Dakota Wesleyan University Tigers and the Mitchell High School Kernels basketball teams.
History
The original Mitchell Corn Palace (known as "The Corn Belt Exposition") was built in 1892 to showcase the rich soil of South Dakota and encourage people to settle in the area. It was a wooden castle structure on Mitchell's Main Street, built on land donated by Louis Beckwith, a member of the First Corn Palace Committee. The Corn Palace was rebuilt in 1905. In 1921, the Corn Palace was rebuilt once again, with a design by the architectural firm Rapp and Rapp of Chicago. Russian-style onion domes and Moorish minarets were added in 1937, giving the Palace the distinctive appearance that it has today. It costs $130,000 annually to decorate the Palace.
The exterior corn murals are replaced and redesigned each year with a new theme. The designs are created by local artists. From 1948 to 1971, the artist Oscar Howe designed the panels. Calvin Schultz designed the murals from 1977 to 2002. Since 2003, the murals have been designed by Cherie Ramsdell. No new mural was created in 2006 due to an extreme drought.
The Corn Palace in Mitchell was preceded by several other grain palaces including: a Corn Palace in Sioux City, Iowa that was active from 1887–1891; a Corn Palace in Gregory, South Dakota; a Grain Palace in Plankinton, South Dakota; and a Bluegrass Palace in Creston, Iowa.
The Palace's domes were renovated in 2015 after shaking in strong winds. The new turrets are made of architectural metals.
Images for kids
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Display demonstrating the "corn-by-numbers" technique used to create murals
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1964 - South Dakota Scenes
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2000 - Millennium Corn
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2003 - Scenic South Dakota
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2004 - Lewis & Clark
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2005 - Life on the Farm
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2008 - Everyday Heroes
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2011 - American Pride
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2016 - Rock of Ages
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2020 - South Dakota Home Grown
