Visit the World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota

At first it is easy to ignore the billboards that begin popping up hundreds of miles from Mitchell. They don't really say much, just some simple phrases like "It's A-Maize-Ing!" and "See the World's Only Corn Palace." But, after the first dozen or so, you begin to wonder just what this Corn Palace is all about.

I had never heard of the Corn Palace, and - being an eco-minded kind of gal - I was thinking more along the lines of a building made from corn, something like a straw bale house or a sod dwelling, which is what initially piqued my interest. So, when I saw what ended up being a typical building with corn nailed onto roofing paper and on top of plywood, I was a bit disappointed, but the billboards hadn't promised an eco-friendly, corn-based structure.

The current Corn Palace is actually the third one to be constructed and was built in 1921. Its predecessors were built in 1892 and 1905. The original Corn Palace was a 100 x 66 foot structure made entirely of wood and located two blocks from the Corn Palace's current location. The second, measuring 125 x 142 feet and also made of wood, was constructed after the original building was outgrown. This second structure was built one block away from where the Corn Palace resides today.

After looking at historic photos of the two previous Corn Palaces, I wish I could have seen the first two, both of which had far more interesting (and more palace-like) architecture and donned elaborate designs that were more aesthetically pleasing, but lacked the murals that are so popular today.

The current Corn Palace acts as Mitchell, South Dakota's community multi-use facility and is the home court for area school basketball teams. Throughout the year there are stage performances and special events, and an annual Corn Palace Festival with rides, vendors and entertainment in August.

Each year a new theme is chosen and a local artist designs the murals to be placed when the corn matures. Retired fireman and local farmer, Dean Strand, grows the 3,000 bushels of grasses and grains and the 275,000 ears of corn to be used in the design, and has spent the past 25 years developing colorful strains of corn to be used.