See The Dynamic Taj Mahal Of The American Prairies

 

See the dynamic Taj Mahal of the American prairies. This Moorish Revival style building is not only a popular tourist attraction, but also about a celebration. A celebration about the American farmer whose hard labor touches everyone yet, not seen by many. But it’s also a celebration to showcase a city for an attempt to lure more residents in a struggle for power. The World’s Only Corn Palace in South Dakota is an American icon.

 

Early Days Of The Corn Palace

 

We have to stop at the Corn Palace to see the yearly theme when we take a road trip out west.

 

Even though it is a tourist attraction today, it didn’t start out that way. Built in 1892, the Corn palace had much different intentions than a tourist attraction. It wanted to prove farming as the backbone of South Dakota, and also America.

 

About 90 years earlier Lewis and Clark traveled through South Dakota and declared the land bad for agriculture.

 

In 1892 South Dakota was only 3 years old and had very few people living there. The South Dakotans were upset with what Lewis and Clark proclaimed. After all, they found their soil to be very good. Here, what nature creates from seed to harvest gives South Dakotans great pride. What better way to lure settlers and debunk the myth than building a structure to boast about grains they grow?

 

During this time, several cities in the Great Plains built large grain palaces to advertise their cities and promote their grain products. In the same manner, Mitchell built their corn palace to celebrate each year’s harvest too. They originally named theirs “The Corn Belt Exposition”. Yet, this is the only surviving palace left. This is the beginning of how hard working homesteaders begin to see the dynamic Taj Mahal of the American prairies take shape.

 

See how a modern Midwest farmer celebrates the love of his life each year. This is a magnificent display of love you shouldn’t miss!

 

From Celebrations To A Power Struggle

But Mitchell had another plan, they wanted to bring settlers into their area. One strategy was drawing attention to South Dakota’s nutrient rich soil. This soil promises to produce bountiful harvests and prosperity. Hopefully, word would spread to homesteaders who would flock to Mitchell. Another reason was to compete with Pierre to wrestle away the state capital. Even though this attempt peaked in 1904-05 it was unsuccessful.

 

Classic Americana Murals

In reality it’s all about these classic Americana murals. Discovering new murals each year is what makes the Corn Palace fun. Each year has a different theme and you can see photos from previous years inside.

 

It seems like each year we wait to find out what the new themes are. Some years we can relate to more than others. This is what makes it fun though.

 

13 colors of corn are all grown locally. In particular, red, brown, black, white, orange, calico, yellow, green and a few more shades of these. Each color grows in its own field so that plants don’t cross pollinate.

 

Obviously, the most important grain used is corn. However, other important grains used are wheat, rye, sorghum, flax, oats and millet. Similarly, grasses used are bromegrass, bluegrass and straw. Notice how they compliment the corn. Can you spot the different grains and grasses?

 

Oscar Howe’s artistic style greatly influenced murals at the Corn Palace. He developed his own style of painting to portray contemporary realities. From 1948 – 1971 his style was displayed in murals on the Corn Palace. He was also hired by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression to paint murals around Mitchell.

All in all, if you like Americana art then you will love visiting the Corn Palace.

 

If you enjoy Americana then you might also enjoy our post about a massive event that runs through 6 states.

 

How To Make The Murals

 

In the past, Oscar Howe created murals from his imagination.

Now, making murals starts with art students at Dakota Wesleyan University who create designs from their imagination. Next, a local artist makes about 30 watercolor drawings for the city of Mitchell. From these they pick 13 for the outside. After this, the local farmer who grows all of the corn gets a copy of each one. Then he knows how much corn to grow overall and how much of each color.

 

Later, the redesigned drawings move to large pieces of tar paper to designate codes assigned to each color. If you have seen paint by numbers you would understand.

After this, these sketches attach to the building where artists start constructing the murals with corn and grasses. Artists soak ears of corn in water then cut them in half because they are easier to work with. After all, halved ears lay flat to the building better when cut. Then the artists nail each one to the side of the building with 4 to 5 nails. Overall, it takes 325 thousand ears of corn and 1.5 million nails.

 

Would you enjoy putting the grains and grasses together like a huge art project? Or, would you prefer someone else do it and just enjoy it?

 

There’s More To The Corn Palace

 

Check out the second floor balcony for a closer view of the murals and a birds eye view of downtown Mitchell. The steps are right beside the main entrance but an elevator is available too.

 

Since you are already on the second floor go ahead and follow the walkway.  Along the way see photos of Oscar Howe’s Corn Palace murals. 

 

Surprisingly, this leads to the basketball court arena.

 

 

Above the court you will see indoor corn murals on all sides except for the seating area. However, these murals stay the same for many years unlike the outdoor murals that change each year.

 

Architecture of the Corn Palace has changed over the years. Most notably, the Russian influenced onion domes and Moorish inspired minarets in 1937. In 2015 new metal ones replaced the older ones as they became unsafe. Even though the metal designs are modern we miss the old style accents.

 

Check out these festivals held at the Corn Palace. Naturally, the Corn Palace Festival. But did you know you can also go to a polka festival and a rodeo here?

 

Final Thoughts

 

When we think of the Corn Palace we don’t naturally think of today’s modern version.

 

We imagine a life in the 1950’s with miles and miles of cornfields as far as you can see. A narrow road slices through them. From this road a crop dusting biplane is visible from a distance. Similar to the 1959 movie North By Northwest with Cary Grant, only this time the biplane is not sinister.

Imagine a biplane flying peacefully over cornfields dropping out of the sky again and again. From a distance the engine noise is a soft buzz but becomes harsher as it gets closer. The biplane barely skims over the top of the field only to slowly turn up and away each time as it comes to the end.

 

Biplanes are fun but they are hard to find in today’s world. We wrote about a fantastic living history event with biplanes and included a lot of photos. You can find it here.

 

To us, this era celebrates the farmer as the backbone of America. Seeing the Corn Palace murals symbolize pride in all hard working people. They represent every aspect of work that unifies our country.

 

Look closely at each mural. Enjoy how each one is created yet speaks differently to each of us. What do you think about when you see them?

 

When you see the dynamic Taj Mahal of the American prairies you appreciate what hard work and nature created.

 

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Thanks for reading! 

Tom and Kristi