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At this time, we’d like to introduce you to the other new member of this ensemble, InternStacy Conradt, who’s currently a graduate student at Iowa State University. Please give her a warm welcome. – Mangesh & Jason
I was driving to Sioux Falls, S.D. the other day and let me tell you, the drive from Des Moines to Sioux Falls is not particularly thrilling. It’s so dull, in fact, that I found myself consulting the atlas just for fun (disclaimer: I do not endorse the act of map reading while driving). I discovered one of those “places of interest” printed in red, fairly close to my destination: The Corn Palace. The Corn Palace?! How could I stay within an hour of a place called The Corn Palace and not check it out?
Once I had finished in Sioux Falls for the day, I hopped in my car and headed to Mitchell, S.D. The drive wasn’t nearly as boring as I expected, because peppered along the highway every few miles were signs extolling the virtues of Wall Drug. Alas, Wall Drug is located on the west end of the state, far out of my driving range. It’s a shame, because after reading for 60 miles about its gemstone mines, life-size dinosaurs, free ice water and genuine oil paintings for sale, I was pretty intrigued.
I also passed signs for the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and was a bit mystified when I saw this from afar:
Turns out it was a sculpture garden…one that was closed for the season.
Anyway, on to the Corn Palace. Mitchell had only been in existence for 12 years when the first Palace was built in 1892. If a building decorated with corn cobs sounds a little strange to you, then Mitchell’s founding fathers accomplished their goal – they wanted to build something out of the ordinary to put the town on the map. A second Palace was built in 1905 to replace the original when it was deemed too small. Finally, in 1919, something called “building codes” were invented. In 1921, the Corn Palace’s wooden structure (with dirt floor) had to make way for the steel and brick building that still stands today.
The decorating method is pretty simple: varying shades of corn cobs, grown by one local farmer, are sliced in half lengthwise and nailed to the building. The corn in accented by bundles of milo, rye, oat heads and sour dock.
The exterior décor is removed every summer and a new design is put in its place. You can see from the picture that the 2007 “Salute to Rodeo” theme is currently being replaced by 2008’s “Everyday Heroes.” It takes about 550,000 half ears of corn to cover the entire exterior.
The building isn’t just pretty, it’s also functional – local schools (high school and colleges) play basketball games there. I know you’re curious, and yes, the high school team is called the Mitchell Kernels.
If you visit Mitchell and you’re not totally satisfied by your Corn Palace visit, there’s more fun to be had across the street at the Enchanted World Doll Museum.
Because I don’t want to have nightmares for the rest of my life, I declined.
So what about you guys? What strange local landmarks have you visited?
Previous Armchair Field Trips:
• Portugal
• The International Spy Museum
• Utah
• Intercourse, Pennsylvania
• Ogunquit, Maine
• Aquinnah, Massachusetts
Comments (24)
Comment
I’ve been to the Corn Palace. It was about 13 years ago, so I don’t really remember it too well.
posted by jokermage on 9-26-2007 at 11:15 am
The best of all is The House on the Rock in Wisconsin. It’s full of instruments that play themselves, strange dioramas, creepy displays, and the Infinity Room – a room jutting off a cliff with windows on all sides that appears to go on forever. It’s amazing!
Also in Wisconsin, Dr. Evermore’s Forevertron, although I’m not sure if it is still around – last I heard they were thinking of moving it to a different town.
posted by Molly on 9-26-2007 at 11:18 am
When I was in college, a bunch of my friends took a midnight road trip to go see the Corn Palace. But the thing I’ve always wanted to see is the Butter Cow at the Iowa State fair. You think creating a mural from corn cobs is cool — imagine carving a cow (and various busts and portraits) out of butter!
posted by Kristen on 9-26-2007 at 11:30 am
Kristen, I live just a few miles from the Iowa State Fairgrounds! In fact, I have a friend who works for the fair year-round (she’s not a carny; she’s in charge of charitable contributions). The butter cow is something else… they also had butter Harry Potter this year. The butter Last Supper from several years ago was pretty incredible. Maybe my next post will be about State Fairs!
posted by InternStacy on 9-26-2007 at 11:47 am
For eccentricity…try The Orange Show in Houston, Texas.
posted by Deej on 9-26-2007 at 12:41 pm
Went on a cross country motorcycle ride a couple of summers ago, and saw quite a few things along my journey. saw the Largest Cross (just 2 feet taller than the next one)in Effingham, Illinois and the worlds largest ketchup bottle in Collinsville Illinois.
posted by MJ on 9-26-2007 at 12:47 pm
How about the Palace of Gold in Moundsville, WV? SPOOKY!!
posted by Lorie on 9-26-2007 at 1:02 pm
OK, speeking of world’s largest – World’s Largest Frying Pan: Brandon, IA. I drive past the sign about 10 times a month, but have never stopped. I swear one day I’m going to stop and get my picture taken in it. I like things like that…Longenburger (spelling?) baskets had an exhibit at the John Deere HQ in Moline, IL and I totally got my picture taken standing in a huge basket (and then some more sitting in the rims of the tractors on display). And InternStacy – I’ve been to the enchanted world doll museum, and it was not creepy at all…but then again, I was like 10, so of course I was going to love it. And alas, I am very ashamed to admit that I have lived in Iowa for all 22 years of my life, and I have never made it the State Fair – but honest to goodness, I will see that butter cow next year! Maybe I’ll enter a Beef Queen contest and be required to go!
posted by Lindsay D on 9-26-2007 at 1:10 pm
Hey InterStacy, how about a post on odd museums, like the Enchanted World Doll Museum? If you’re ever in New York state, you can visit the Jell-o Museum in Leroy, NY or the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, NY. They both have web sites in case you can’t wait!
posted by tpal on 9-26-2007 at 1:23 pm
I am a total nut for kitschy roadside attractions. If it is the world’s biggest, smallest, etc — I am all over that. I’ve seen the world’s tallest thermometer, a building shaped like the front grill of a Cadillac, the Watts Towers (amazing!), the world’s largest office chair, etc etc. I always plan road trips using roadsideamerica.com
posted by kellie on 9-26-2007 at 1:34 pm
Our family visited there when I was a kid…I don’t remember it much, except I do like the idea of big fantastical places out in the middle of nowhere…we accidentally ran across Custer’s Last Stand in Montana once…had no idea it was even IN Montana…that was fun too…
posted by donner on 9-26-2007 at 1:49 pm
Roadsideamerica.com is great fun. I once gathered a bunch of people to see the Jolly Green Giant statue in Minnesota. It was a waste of time but fun. I think the statue is 40 feet high or so.
One place I want to see at some point is Coral Castle. I learned about it while playing “The Stone” (online puzzle game) and it sounds like a pretty cool place.
posted by Chris on 9-26-2007 at 1:51 pm
Lindsey D. (response #7) mentioned the world’s largest frying pan. During a recent business trip to Iowa I drove past a sign that promoted Iowa’s largest frying pan. I thought it was pretty sad that it was only Iowa’s largest and not the world’s largest!
posted by Ed on 9-26-2007 at 2:11 pm
I’ve been to the corn palace (on a very long drive from Texas to Minot, ND). It is really neat. The Enchanted Highway is pretty cool, as is the birthplace of Louis L’Amour. I also saw two giant buffalos and a giant cow on the side of the road in the Dakotas alone.
On a side note, Rock City (I’m thinking it’s in TN…was during a trip from Texas to NC) is really awesome. There are signs on the the tops of buildings across two states advertising it, and it really does live up to the hype.
posted by Kat on 9-26-2007 at 2:16 pm
Growing up in the midwest, I got to go to the Corn Palace and The House on the Rock (which was always my favorite). I was actually just at Wall Drug this past May (and if you decide to take a road trip that way, stop off at Al’s Oasis). The donuts at Wall Drug are fresh, and the coffee only costs five cents. The best, of course, is the jackalope!
posted by Lesley on 9-26-2007 at 2:32 pm
My boyfriend, two children and I made the trek from the east side of Iowa to Mount Rushmore this summer. My son is somewhat of a Ripley’s and Guinness fanatic and always want to see the record holders. I found a delightful website (www.roadsideamerica.com)that lists all of the most bizarre attractions by state. Needless to say, we had an interesting trip that not only included the above mentioned Corn Palace and Porter Sculpture Garden(I highly recommend it), and Wall Drug but also the largest man made out of tires, the largest cheeto, and Tom Thumb’s wife’s wedding dress (just to name a few). It made for a memorable drive and vacation.
posted by Kate on 9-26-2007 at 2:50 pm
I personally don’t like the House on the Rock. The house itself is ok for adults interested in architecture, but beyond that its just a long maze of dusty old crap that no one wanted in their house anymore. Trust me on this one.
But in the UP of Michigan there is a ‘natural’ attraction called the Paulving Light (spelling?). Its a few miles from the Lac de View casino. You go down this long dirt road to where it stops (at night) and if you wait a few minutes you will see a light slowly apear and dissapear. No joke. The tourist center nearby has an amazingly lame movie about it. Theories as to the light’s origin range from car headlights in the distance to aliens. Check it out if you are in the area… there’s nothing better to do. Trust me.
posted by Amy on 9-26-2007 at 3:28 pm
Many of my relatives live in Mitchell, so I’ve been to high school graduations in the Corn Palace. And since visiting grandma can get pretty dull, we go to the doll museum every once in awhile, but it’s surprisingly not as creepy as it may seem.
posted by Laura on 9-26-2007 at 3:51 pm
I just want to agree with Laura, having grown up in SD very near the Corn Palace, I have visited the doll museum. It’s interesting, I guess. Too bad you missed Wall Drug…the free ice water is kindof a big deal. Plus, they have a life sized T-rex that is robotic and will scare the pants off you while you’re shopping for a turd bird. Gotta love SD.
posted by Heather on 9-26-2007 at 7:08 pm
When in Oregon, don’t miss the Oregon Vortex and the House of Mystery!
posted by Brandee on 9-26-2007 at 9:31 pm
In the same vein as Wall Drug is Buckey’s in Texas. It’s about an hour east of San Antonio, and has billboards for miles both directions. What gets me is a) the billboards start from about 60 miles out(!) and 2) One of them advertises their “fabulous restrooms!”
The restrooms are okay. What’s really great is the sheer types and amount of jerky that are available.
posted by TGecko on 9-26-2007 at 11:37 pm
in north/south carolina, the popular interstate attraction is south of the border. it’s right on the boundary of the two states, and the billboards advertising for it stretch 60 miles in either direction.
i vaguely remember buying a sombrero from there.
posted by jenni on 9-27-2007 at 12:21 pm
I love the armchair field trips! You might want to think about a trip to the Big Duck on Long Island.
posted by boliyou on 9-30-2007 at 9:39 pm
Prarie Dog museum
It’s in alberta and it’s stuffed prarier dogs that have been place in dioramas of historical event, movie scenes in costume. Yes.
posted by Christina on 3-3-2009 at 11:43 am