世界上唯一的玉米宮殿:美國(guó)最幽默城市的奇跡

世界上唯一的玉米宮殿:美國(guó)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(yīng)該被列入老爸笑話名人堂。這是為什么呢?讓我們來(lái)探索這個(gè)獨(dú)特的結(jié)構(gòu)。

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(guó)最有趣的城市，不僅因?yàn)檫@里的人太沉迷于用“玉米”來(lái)制造雙關(guān)語(yǔ)，還因?yàn)檫@里的一切都可以和玉米聯(lián)系在一起。就像“confused”會(huì)變成“corn-fuse”。更確切地說(shuō)，沒(méi)有哪個(gè)城市能夠?qū)?.4公頃土地上的文化中心、民間藝術(shù)作品與玉米結(jié)合起來(lái)。那是世界上獨(dú)一無(wú)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(dāng)你駛過(guò)南達(dá)科他州時(shí)，你會(huì)在90號(hào)州際公路上看到這樣的廣告。如果好奇的話，你會(huì)去米切爾的小鎮(zhèn)主街，你會(huì)立刻看到一個(gè)巨大的亮黃色的建筑，看起來(lái)就像一場(chǎng)龍卷風(fēng)襲擊了莫斯科，把克里姆林宮的一部分扔進(jìn)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(gè)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(huà)讓人想起南達(dá)科他州著名的旅游景點(diǎn)。“南達(dá)科他州自養(yǎng)”的字樣在前門(mén)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(diǎn)，但它的起源遠(yuǎn)不止南達(dá)科他州的公路。第一個(gè)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(dá)科他州唯一的州。它出現(xiàn)在整個(gè)南達(dá)科他州，入侵內(nèi)布拉斯加州和愛(ài)荷華州。這就好像是在向農(nóng)民致敬，感謝他們?yōu)檫@個(gè)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(méi)能保護(hù)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(guò)了128年的時(shí)間和3個(gè)不同的地點(diǎn)，玉米宮終于在1920年“定居”在北主街604號(hào)。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(huà)的主題。例如，今年是“南達(dá)科塔家庭種植”(南達(dá)科塔-從樹(shù)木生長(zhǎng)的藝術(shù)房子)。在主題確定后，一群來(lái)自達(dá)科塔衛(wèi)斯理大學(xué)的學(xué)生設(shè)計(jì)了壁畫(huà)。根據(jù)配色方案，一位當(dāng)?shù)剞r(nóng)民種植了12個(gè)不同品種的37.5萬(wàn)多顆玉米，以適應(yīng)這幅“圖畫(huà)”。

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(gè)部分都用顏色標(biāo)注。在那之后，工人們把玉米“釘”在上面，直到整個(gè)宮殿被完全覆蓋。通常，新的玉米宮在12月初開(kāi)放，但要視天氣而定。如果氣溫低于零下6攝氏度，風(fēng)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(shí)正是它最青翠的時(shí)候。所以如果你想看到玉米宮最輝煌的時(shí)刻，初夏是最好的游覽時(shí)間。整個(gè)項(xiàng)目耗資約17.5萬(wàn)美元，這是一個(gè)每年吸引50萬(wàn)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(dāng)然，干旱或洪水會(huì)影響收成，當(dāng)然還有玉米宮。因此，有些年份沒(méi)有足夠的玉米來(lái)制作一個(gè)完整的重拍，而這幅壁畫(huà)可以保存兩年或更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。