What has 100,000 ears and is completely deaf? Answer: The Corn Palace.

Truly, A Palace of Corn

Hey, look--the whole entire middle of this country is corn.  Nothing but corn--anyone who has EVER been there knows this.  If I lived here, I imagine I would be so tired of the sight, sounds, and smell of corn (and just so ya know, those corn refineries put out some SERIOUS sticky sweet odors).  I have to hand it to them, though, for making the best of it.   I see the Corn Palace as a celebration of community and agricultural achievement.  Perhaps they do too--it's weird, though--I couldn't tell whether they thought any of it was as silly as we did.  I would like to say there's some tongue in cheek happening here, that they 'get' the joke--I mean, its their joke--they BUILT the thing, but I didn't really get that vibe.  From anyone.  Ever.  Hm.  Ok, well, when in Rome.....I guess I, too, would have just grabbed my glue gun and several thousand ears of corn and started gluing with gusto.

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. 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. Moorish domes and 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.

Besides being a tourist attraction, the Corn Palace also serves the local 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.

  

The Corn Palace in Mitchell was preceded by several other grain palaces including: a Corn Palace in Sioux City, Iowathat 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.

Hmmmmm.....look closely.   Most curious.....

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 Republic, to protect a "new Fiberglas statue of the Corn Palace mascot Cornelius" in 2009. This statue sits across Main Street, west of the Corn Palace (see above photo with yours truly).

Here's a closeup of the facade to show just how the corn is used to create the murals and texture.

I guess I can't fault them for their corny humor.
Bwahahahahahahaha!  Get it?  CORNY HUMOR?!?!?  I kill me.

Guess what the hot snack item is here.  Yup.  Heaven on a stick: the corndog.

CAN'T wait to play this gem on a gig someday.

The corn palace is also a place of learning and scientific exploration.

...And conveniently located across the street from the Enchanted World Doll Museum.  The whole experience was really pretty funnily creepy.