corn palace

Unless you find yourself in Mitchell do not waste any time traveling to the corn palace. I drove from Sioux Falls and it was the most useless trip ever. The palace is under construction currently, but even if it isn't there was nothing to see or do there. There are the corn murals on the outside which are definitely interesting but again not worth the trip. I went inside and there was a wrestling tournament going on. They were charging to get in but when I told them I was a tourist they let me in free. I walked around through the huge crowd and saw the other corn murals from very far away. I found some historical posters tucked in the back corner but that was it. I was in and out in 20 minutes. I walked around downtown Mitchell for a little while longer and not much going on there either.

Followed the amazing signage to this place (palace is a bit of a stretch) and joined the long line-up of locals who were attending a local high school Basketball game. The palace, decorated in corn-husk sculpture & accompanying souvenir shops, is actually a wonderful arena, complete with new upholstered (& very comfortable seating), great sight-lines, and ecoustics. Truly .... not a bad seat in the house....and GREAT popCORN in the concessions.

Last summer my nieces came to visit and we stopped downtown and they were in awe of the real castle. They thought they were in a fairy tale. I'd never experienced it that way before. Can't wait to bring them back this summer.

The history of the place and seeing the art made of corn is cool, but it's not that interesting. The inside just had booths of cheap knick knacks we thought there would be some type of museum, but there was only a video playing near the back about the history. I don't know how it is the rest of the year, but hopefully more interesting than that!

The Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D., about an hour west of Sioux Falls along Interstate 90 is a working municipal arena, adjacent to the City Hall. What makes the Corn Palace famous is the outside of the building is decorated with corn stalks and the theme of the display changes on a routine basis. While we enjoyed our visit on our way to the Black Hills region and Rapid City, S.D., I must say the experience was average at best. While the lobby of the Corn Palace has numerous pictures and displays, it really isn't much to brag about. When we were there, a community flea market was taking place in the main arena itself.

There is a major renovation going on at the location right now so I would highly recommend not visiting as you really can't see a lot of the displays very well due to not being able to get close to them. Overall quite a disappointment.

We traveled to the Corn Palace expecting to see the structure that is publicized but instead found a modern building with construction going on.

While traveling, there are the wild, strange and the unusual to be found. For me, a unique site that I discovered was The World's Only Corn Palace, 604 N. Main St. in Mitchell, SD. An estimated 500,000 tourists from all over the United States and beyond, travel to this small area of the state to view the unique corn murals. Originally, this introduced South Dakota's agricultural climate as strong and healthy. In 1892, the World's Only Corn Palace was established on the city's Main Street. The present structure is home to the Corn Palace Festival with fall festival celebration in late August every year. The building is also available for local exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, prom's and graduations that take place throughout the year. It is said that over 275,000 ears of corn are used in the design of the murals. All colors, red, brown, black, blue, white, orange, calico, yellow and green, to name a few of the twelve, are grown naturally. In the process of the designs, various grains, rye, oat heads and sour dock are used. Each year, a Corn Palace Festival Committee selects a new theme. Through the talented hands of local artists, these interesting works of art come to life. The decorating process starts in late May. By August, the murals are stripped to make way for new ones completed by the first of October.

I'm not sure how the Corn Palace rates as a performance venue, but we went to see it as a tourist attraction. It's basically a high school-sized basketball gym on the inside with some interesting corn murals on the outside. That's it. Nothing more. This explains why it's advertised as "free." It's currently being renovated/under construction to include a future exhibit about the artists who redesign the exterior corn panels annually. Please don't drive too far out of your way to see this. You'll be disappointed like we were.(I did look up information about the Corn Palace, and it's used by both the Mitchell High School basketball team and the Dakota Wesleyan University basketball team. So that explains the ball court.)

While this may not be a destination vacation, it still is worth the stop if you are in the area. Fascinating piece of America. Unique idea. Nice little town.

We can't understand why this place has a low over all rating? Unless it has to do with a city versus a farm background. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Excellent informative tour. I think some folks are expecting to see a castle or a mansion and disappointed when they find out that it is more of a museum to the wonders of corn. If you have the time, it is worth the side trip to Mitchell (just off Interstate 90) on your way to or from Mount Rushmore. An even if you are not an art lover, you will be blown away by all the beautiful mosaics, all totally crafted from multi colored corn kernels. Oh and did we mention, it's FREE. Check out there web site:cornpalace.org

I LOVED it. Words cannot describe how utterly unique this attraction is. I've been twice and have been completely blown away by the mosaics of this place. I love also that they joke about it becoming a bird feeder. The building itself functions as a gymnasium and place of entertainment. If you are a serious traveler looking for gilded wallpaper where kings once lived, stay away. This place is just FUN and informative.

Interesting place. Not something you can spend a lot of time at, but still interesting for a couple of hours.

I've always wanted to go so I was excited to make the stop. Unfortunately, when we stopped it was under construction. It was stillI fun to walk through it. If you are in the Mitchell area it is a must see!

There aren't even words to describe the amazing use of corn as mosaic tiles to decorate a building. Don't do a special trip but if you are driving by be sure to stop.