Corn Palace. Mitchell, South Dakota.

Submitted by Markydoodle October 27th, 2011
Certifikitsch Winner

This is the Corn Palace.  The murals on the Corn Palace are changed annually to reflect the theme chosen for that year.  This is a picture of the 2010 murals, which was “Transportation.”  Over the years, there have been a myriad of themes chosen.  For example, 1926 was “South Dakota when the White Man Arrived.”  1966 was “Dancing and Branding,” which must’ve been something.  Mitchell is 1600 miles inland from Los Angeles, on I90.Looks like they just had the Polka Festival there last month.  Included was a Polka Mass at 10 am on Sunday morning.

Here’s a video of the inside while folks are enjoying a polka.

7 Responses to “Corn Palace. Mitchell, South Dakota.”

  1. Allee Willis

    I’ve seen photos of this place before. All the murals are made of corn. I’d certainly love to see this in the flesh or should I say husk one day.

  3. Brother Cleve

    I’ve actually been there….twice!! South Dakota is pretty amazing. My favorite part of the Corn Palace is the giant listing of all the entertainers who have played there; for something like 40 years, it was Lawrence Welk, with the exception of 2 years : once in the early 50’s it was Duke Ellington (at the lowest ebb years of his popularity) and once in the early 60’s it was the Three Stooges.

    The place is amazing. When we asked who put the corn on the murals, we were told it was “the boys and girls from the reform school”!!

    Driving there from Rapid City is like being on the moon. If the moon had Wall Drug,of course, which is also amazing.

      • Brother Cleve

        If you continue driving east on I-90, you’ll come to the Valley Of the Jolly (ho-ho-ho) Green Giant, as you cross the Minnesota border. It’s the corporate HQ of Birds Eye foods! There’s a, uh, GIANT statue of the Green Giant….which makes the place look eerily like the old tv commercials. Very disconcerting at night, especially if you’ve been enjoying some substance abuse along the way. Scared the hell out of me first time I saw it. (you can see him here – http://www.sillyamerica.com/blog/tag/giant-man/)

        I wonder if the corn used at the Palace comes from the Giants valley!