South Dakota’s Corn Palace gets new look
MITCHELL, S. D. The Corn Palace has been steeped in agricultural tradition since 1892, so when the caretakers of one of South Dakota’s most popular tourist attractions decided it was due for some maintenance, they also decided to gently nudge it into the 21st century.
Gone are the Fiberglas green-and-yellow onion domes, replaced by airy steel versions. A new marquee, larger corn murals and a walkout balcony have been added outside. And in perhaps the most modern touch of a $4-million renovation, the palace’s night face now features LED lighting that plays dramatically across the building.
“It needed a facelift,” said Katie Knutson, director of the Mitchell Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It needed something to draw a different crowd.”
The Corn Palace, which also features an arena to host concerts and basketball games, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Knutson and others are hoping the new look will attract a new generation of tourists.
The first Corn Palace was built in 1892 so settlers could display the fruits of their harvest. Almost every year since, artists have created colourful new murals on the outside walls using corn of different varieties and colour, a fall tradition that costs about $150,000 a year. The building’s annual makeover begins each May when crews start tearing down the rye and sour dock that surround the murals. Workers dismantle the previous year’s corn murals in late August or early September.
Local artist Cherie Ramsdell creates paintings to be enlarged and projected onto black tar paper, so her designs can be outlined in a “corn-by-numbers” pattern. A crew follows her directions on where to nail each half-split cob.