世界上唯一的玉米宮殿:美國最幽默城市的奇跡

世界上唯一的玉米宮殿:美國最幽默城市的奇跡

The World's Only Corn Palace should be listed in the Dad Joke Hall of Fame. Why is that? Let's explore this unique structure.

世界上唯一的玉米宮殿應該被列入老爸笑話名人堂。這是為什么呢?讓我們來探索這個獨特的結構。

Mitchell may be the funniest city in America, not only because the people here are too obsessed with making puns with "corn", but also because everything here can be tied to corn. Like "confused" will become "corn-fused". Rather, no city can combine a cultural center, a folk art work on an area of ??0.4 hectares with corn. That is the unique Corn Palace that is hard to find anywhere in the world.

米切爾可能是美國最有趣的城市，不僅因為這里的人太沉迷于用“玉米”來制造雙關語，還因為這里的一切都可以和玉米聯(lián)系在一起。就像“confused”會變成“corn-fuse”。更確切地說，沒有哪個城市能夠將0.4公頃土地上的文化中心、民間藝術作品與玉米結合起來。那是世界上獨一無二的玉米宮殿。

"Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Mitchell has the Palace of Corn", the people here are proud.

“巴黎有埃菲爾鐵塔，米切爾有玉米宮”，這里的人們感到自豪。

“Mitchell Corn Palace is the only corn palace in the world,” you will see advertisements like this along Interstate 90 as you launch through South Dakota. If it's curious enough, you'll head to Mitchell's small town of Main Street, immediately see a giant bright yellow structure that looks like a tornado crashing into Moscow and dropping part of the Kremlin into a field.

“米切爾玉米宮是世界上唯一的玉米宮”，當你駛過南達科他州時，你會在90號州際公路上看到這樣的廣告。如果好奇的話，你會去米切爾的小鎮(zhèn)主街，你會立刻看到一個巨大的亮黃色的建筑，看起來就像一場龍卷風襲擊了莫斯科，把克里姆林宮的一部分扔進了一塊地里。

Round metal tower. Two giant domes protrude into the sky. Covering the walls are 6 different native grasses. The multi-story murals evoke images of famous tourist attractions of South Dakota. The words "South Dakota Home Grown" stand out on the front and main entrance. All are made from multicolored corn.

圓形金屬塔。兩個巨大的圓頂突出天空。墻上覆蓋著6種不同的原生草。多層壁畫讓人想起南達科他州著名的旅游景點。“南達科他州自養(yǎng)”的字樣在前門和主入口醒目。它們都是由五彩玉米制成的。

Despite being a roadside attraction, the Corn Palace has its origins further than South Dakota state roads. The first corn palace was built in 1892, but then it was not the only construction in the world. Not even the only state in South Dakota. It appeared all over South Dakota, invading Nebraska and Iowa. It is as if to pay tribute to the farmers, thanking them for their efforts for a rich season.

盡管玉米宮是路邊景點，但它的起源遠不止南達科他州的公路。第一個玉米宮殿建于1892年，但它并不是世界上唯一的建筑。甚至不是南達科他州唯一的州。它出現(xiàn)在整個南達科他州，入侵內布拉斯加州和愛荷華州。這就好像是在向農(nóng)民致敬，感謝他們?yōu)檫@個豐饒的季節(jié)所付出的努力。

But those communities failed to preserve their corn palaces. Only Mitchell City has never given up.

但是這些社區(qū)沒能保護好他們的玉米宮殿。只有米切爾城從未放棄。

It took 128 years and 3 different locations until Corn Palace "settled" at 604 North Main Street in 1920. Although the building's lifespan was impressive, the most amazing thing was, each year, the "palace" is completely refurbished.

經(jīng)過了128年的時間和3個不同的地點，玉米宮終于在1920年“定居”在北主街604號。雖然這座建筑的使用壽命令人印象深刻，但最令人驚奇的是，這座“宮殿”每年都要徹底翻新。

Before planting, the city of Mitchell will decide what the theme for the murals on the Corn Palace will be next year. For example, this year is "South Dakota Home Grown" (South Dakota - art house grown from trees). After the topic was established, a group of students from Dakota Wesleyan University designed the murals. Based on the color scheme, a local farmer planted more than 375,000 corn of 12 different varieties to suit the "picture".

在種植玉米之前，米切爾市將決定明年玉米宮壁畫的主題。例如，今年是“南達科塔家庭種植”(南達科塔-從樹木生長的藝術房子)。在主題確定后，一群來自達科塔衛(wèi)斯理大學的學生設計了壁畫。根據(jù)配色方案，一位當?shù)剞r(nóng)民種植了12個不同品種的37.5萬多顆玉米，以適應這幅“圖畫”。

When it's harvest time - usually in late September, corn is soaked in giant buckets of water to become pliable. Huge tar sheets were stuck on the walls of the Corn Palace, the sections were color-coded. After that, the workers "nailed" corn on it until the entire palace was completely covered. Normally, the new Corn Palace opens in early December, but depends on the weather. They will not work if the temperature is below -6 degrees Celsius and the wind is strong.

在收獲季節(jié)——通常在9月下旬，玉米被浸泡在大水桶里使其變得柔韌。玉米宮的墻上貼著巨大的柏油紙，每個部分都用顏色標注。在那之后，工人們把玉米“釘”在上面，直到整個宮殿被完全覆蓋。通常，新的玉米宮在12月初開放，但要視天氣而定。如果氣溫低于零下6攝氏度，風大的話，它們就不能工作。

The Corn Palace was demolished in June or July, when it was at its greenest. So if you want to see the most glorious moment of Corn Palace, early summer is the best time to visit. The entire project costs about $ 175,000 - a small investment in something that attracts half a million visitors a year.

玉米宮在6月或7月被拆除，那時正是它最青翠的時候。所以如果你想看到玉米宮最輝煌的時刻，初夏是最好的游覽時間。整個項目耗資約17.5萬美元，這是一個每年吸引50萬游客的小投資。

Of course, droughts or floods can affect the harvest and of course Corn Palace. So some years don't have enough corn to make an entire remake and the mural can last for two years or more.

當然，干旱或洪水會影響收成，當然還有玉米宮。因此，有些年份沒有足夠的玉米來制作一個完整的重拍，而這幅壁畫可以保存兩年或更長時間。