Corn Palace Mitchell, South Dakota

 

In 1892, the Corn Palace was built to lure settlers to the area.

 



The palace is undergoing a $7.2 million renovation

and this is the architect plan for 2015. 

 

 

The building actually is a concrete auditorium adorned with

murals using Indian corn ears and 3,000 bushels of

rye grass and grains.

 



 

About 600,000 pieces of corn are used to decorate

the outside each year.

 

 

Nine different colors of Indian corn are used to

decorate the mural pictures.

 

 

Mural sketches are made on roofing paper and nailed to

the palace walls.

 

About $100,000 is spent each year creating new themes.

Cal Schultz, a local artist, designed the murals since 1977.

 



 

Corn ears are cut in half and nailed to the

roofing paper to create the mural images.

 

 

A local contest for children called "pedal pull"

was the event of the day.

 

The peddling of the three wheel tractor

would pull the gray weight up the white ramp

until the child could not move forward.

The child who peddled the furthest won.

 



 

Prior year pictures of the Corn Palace. 

 

Corn Palace is also known as the "World's Largest Bird Feeder."

As winter approaches, birds and squirrels feed on the corn and seeds.