As I drove from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Mitchell, I passed what seemed like hundreds of billboards touting the Corn Palace. I asked a woman in Mitchell how to get to the Palace and she said, and I have a witness who heard her, "As the crow flies, it is 10 blocks." I still don't know what that means, but I was able to find it.
Apparently, there has been a Corn Palace in Mitchell since 1892. It was the town's founding fathers method to put the town on the map and draw tourists. Today, the Corn Palace not only hosts over 500,000 tourists each summer, but is used by the Mitchell community for basketball games, stage shows, trade shows, proms, graduations, and the Shrine Circus. Oh boy!
The decorative materials are all native corn, grasses, and grains of South Dakota. About 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half and nailed flat side to the building. Each year, the Corn Palace is redecorated with a new theme. This year's theme is "Everyday Heroes," which honors teachers, police officers, fire fighters, (etc.)
It takes approximately three months to redecorate the Palace at an annual cost of over $100,000 every year. I would have thought the Corn Palace would be the only thing to see in Mitchell, but next door was the "Enchanted World Doll Museum." When I went to check out the Enchanted World Dolls, there was a sign on the museum that said,
"We regret to inform you that the Enchanted World Doll Museum has closed its doors forever, effective immediately. But don’t let that ruin your visit to Mitchell."
If you would like to see the World's Only Corn Palace for yourself, but have no desire to go to Mitchell, South Dakota,
click here to check out their live web cam. Oh, and by the way, the high school team that plays in the Corn Palace, is called the "Mitchell Kernels."
As I drove from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Mitchell, I passed what seemed like hundreds of billboards touting the Corn Palace. I asked a woman in Mitchell how to get to the Palace and she said, and I have a witness who heard her, "As the crow flies, it is 10 blocks." I still don't know what that means, but I was able to find it.
Apparently, there has been a Corn Palace in Mitchell since 1892. It was the town's founding fathers method to put the town on the map and draw tourists. Today, the Corn Palace not only hosts over 500,000 tourists each summer, but is used by the Mitchell community for basketball games, stage shows, trade shows, proms, graduations, and the Shrine Circus. Oh boy!
The decorative materials are all native corn, grasses, and grains of South Dakota. About 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half and nailed flat side to the building. Each year, the Corn Palace is redecorated with a new theme. This year's theme is "Everyday Heroes," which honors teachers, police officers, fire fighters, (etc.)
It takes approximately three months to redecorate the Palace at an annual cost of over $100,000 every year. I would have thought the Corn Palace would be the only thing to see in Mitchell, but next door was the "Enchanted World Doll Museum." When I went to check out the Enchanted World Dolls, there was a sign on the museum that said, 
If you would like to see the World's Only Corn Palace for yourself, but have no desire to go to Mitchell, South Dakota, click here to check out their live web cam. Oh, and by the way, the high school team that plays in the Corn Palace, is called the "Mitchell Kernels."
