Corn Palace

Corn Palace

Street view of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, in 2008
General information
Type multi-purpose arena/facility
Coordinates 43°42′53″N 98°01′34″W / 43.714644°N 98.026019°W / 43.714644; -98.026019Coordinates: 43°42′53″N 98°01′34″W / 43.714644°N 98.026019°W / 43.714644; -98.026019
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 [1]

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 Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the murals and designs covering the building are made from corn and other grains, and a new design is constructed each year. The Corn Palace is a popular tourist destination, visited by between 200,000[2] and 500,000[3] 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

In the late 19th Century, a number of cities on the Great Plains constructed "crop palaces" (also known as "grain palaces") to promote themselves and their products. As the idea succeeded, it spread, 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.[4]

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.[5] In 1904–1905, the city of Mitchell mounted a challenge to the city of Pierre in an unsuccessful attempt to replace it as the state capital of South Dakota. As part of this effort, 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.[6]

In 2004, national media attention was drawn to the Corn Palace, when it received Homeland Security funding. This drew criticism of the Department of Homeland Security and its grant program. In 2007, the Corn Palace subsequently received $25,000 in DHS funding for a camera system useful for purposes including Barack Obama's visit in 2008, and as reported by the Mitchell Daily Republic, to protect a "new Fiberglass statue of the Corn Palace mascot Cornelius" in 2009. This statue sits across Main Street, west of the Corn Palace.

The Palace's domes were renovated in 2015 after shaking in strong winds.[2] The new turrets are made of architectural metals.[7]

Corn palace designs by year

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Dakota Wesleyan University, Athletics Department. "Quick Facts - DWU Athletics". Dakota Wesleyan University.
  2. 1 2 "Mitchell officials seek assurance on new Corn Palace domes". KSFY-TV. Associated Press. May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Corn Palace History". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  4. ↑ Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota, RoadsideAmerica.com; accessed 2016.06.28.
  5. ↑ "Mitchell's Corn Palace", Jan Cerney
  6. ↑ Davey, Monica (2006-08-29). "Blistering Drought Ravages Farmland on Plains". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  7. ↑ Traxler, Marcus (June 30, 2015). "Builder of Corn Palace domes proud, says criticism on delays isn't fair". Mitchell Daily Republic. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
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