Today we’re wrapping up our Weird Roadside Attraction theme week with the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota! The outside of the Corn Palace is decorated with 7 giant murals made from corn and other grains. A new design is constructed every year with a new theme. In the late 19th century, a number of cities on the Great Plains built “crop palaces” to promote themselves and their products. At least 34 corn palaces were built between 1887 and 1930, and only the Corn Palace in Mitchell remains. The original corn palace was built in 1892 for a fall harvest festival to celebrate the area’s agricultural prosperity. The permanent Corn Palace was built in 1921 and the Corn Palace Festival still takes place every August. 12 naturally occurring shades of corn are grown by local farmers to use on the murals. Corn cobs are split in half lengthwise and nailed into place, using around 1.5 million nails and 325,000 ears of corn. It costs an estimated $175,000 each time the Corn Palace is redecorated. Today, over 500,000 people visit the Corn Palace every year. Learn more in the audio below.
And because Bret Michaels is playing the Corn Palace Festival this year…