Mitchell Corn Palace

The Mitchell Corn Palace at 604 N Main Street in Mitchell, South Dakota, is a unique multipurpose arena and civic building whose exterior is completely resurfaced each year with murals made entirely from thousands of bushels of South Dakota corn, grains, and grasses in natural colors. The tradition dates to 1892 when Mitchell constructed the original corn palace as a civic boosterism project to attract settlers and demonstrate the agricultural richness of the eastern Great Plains. The current building, the third incarnation, dates to 1921 and features Moorish Revival architecture with Byzantine domes, minarets, and towers — a deliberately exotic aesthetic juxtaposed against a prairie city context. Each autumn, a new thematic mural is installed across the exterior facades by local artists using only natural plant materials: corn husks, corn cobs in various colors, and various grain species achieve the full color palette without any artificial pigments. The interior of the arena functions as a standard gymnasium and concert venue used by the local community and is relatively plain compared to the elaborate exterior. Self-guided tours of the interior lobby include a small exhibit covering the building's history, the annual art installation process, and historical exterior mural designs. The gift shop is one of the largest attached to any single roadside attraction in South Dakota. Admission to the building and exterior viewing is completely free. Mitchell is located 72 miles west of Sioux Falls on I-90 and serves as a natural midpoint stop for cross-state travelers, with the Corn Palace positioned directly on the main commercial street.