Eastbound and Down: The Corn Palace

Before proceeding, please realize that when we initially stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota, to have lunch, which we did. We had an enjoyable snack, and the residents seemed very pleasant. As a community, Mitchell seemed to take a HUGE amount of pride in the Corn Palace, as illustrated by the numerous street signs which offered not one, but two, different routes to the single destination.

While starting our roadie back across America from South Dakota to the Flour City, New York, we made only two stops. For better or worse, one of them was to The Corn Palace, officially (according to their own website) "The Corn Palace Convention & Visitors Bureau," in Mitchell, South Dakota. Corn is right.

We decided to make the stop primarily because my stepson's paternal grandparents suggested it. After sensing his enthusiasm and hearing the description ("a building made of corn!"), who could resist? I wish I'd checked with RoadsideAmerica.com first though, as it might have lowered our expectations and reduced the disappointment we all felt after our very short stop.



One has to wonder what it takes to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Please tell me this is not a massively funded government agency...



As we turned the corner, we quickly began to realize that the Palace was not really made of corn, but covered in it. A kitschy-cool thing, I suppose, but not nearly as impressive. Roadsideamerica.com makes this distinction clear from the onset, as if to anticipate people's FAQs: "Mitchell's Corn Palace is built out of reinforced concrete, not corn. Every spring, however, its exterior is completely covered with thousands of bushels of native South Dakota corn, grain and grasses that are arranged into large murals."



The detail of the corn "parts" applied to the exterior of the building is impressive. I was curious though, and perhaps my opinion was impacted by our recent visit to the Crazy Horse Monument, also in South Dakota, as to why most of the images depicted actvities and events associated with the cowboys, rather than those associated with Native Americans, whom the Paace is supposed to in some way celebrate.



We were all kind of shocked by what we saw, or didn't see, inside. After being greeted by some friendly volunteer locals who gave us a pamphlet with info, we were told of a tour which would be starting soon. Feeling adventurous, we went in on our own and... IT'S A CONVENTION CENTER! Not a tribute to corn, or a series of diaramas, but, a basketball court with seats and a scoreboard. In the center of the court, local merchants are permitted to peddle their wares. All I could say is "well, now we know what a gym looks like." How discouraging...



About one block from the palace there was a small display hidden in the mall of tourist shops that in part depicts the process that is done annually to cover the palace. The corn palace is in effect a three-dimensional paint by numbers which utilizes corn (and stalks) as its medium.

Uh... oh, boy.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!