News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-10-11
THE SECOND CORN PALACE.
Sioux Citys Latest Unique Arch
tecturaI Undertaking.

i
! ! than that embodied last year in the de-
sign and construction of the Sioux City
corn palace. The following figures are
, given by the builder: There are 300, 900
feet of lumber consumed, Is, 600 bushels
OF yellow corn, and 5000 bushels of
varlegated varieties, 500 pounds of car
, pet tacks, 5000 pounds of nails, 1,500
pounds of brads, $500 feet of rope, 500
feet Of small wire, and $500 yards of
cloth. 1t took forty-six men six days
to erect tie palace, and the decorating
occupied ten days. Load after load of
wheat and oats {. the stalk, millet, corn
stalks, grasses, and in fact every pro-
duct were used in its construction.
The palace that is open to the world
this year is located on the northeast cor
ner of Pierce and Sixth streets, just op-
posite the Court House. It is $50 by
$50 feet in size, and occupies every inch
of quarter block of ground. At the
southwest corner or main entrance rises
the main tower to height of IT'S feet,
while to the east and north are Norman
towers which support the Moorish pavil-
ions. At the apex of the main pavilion
rises flagstaff to a height from the
corner of the pavilion rise smaller flag
! pbt'AlSJ iIOlll h1lICl IlOdb USbllbllul SbI0dIl-
ers bearing the words 'Iowa, dakota,
''Nebraska,' and minnesota" The
roof of the main pavilion is shingled,
thus lnsuring dry interior, a precau-
tion that was not taken last year. The
towers are also made waterproof on the
top. In the main hall there is O wind
ing stairway, and from the top splen-
did view of the city can be obtained.
Between the smaller towers on both the
Pierce and Sixth street sides are beauti-
full fountains in the centre of miniature
| landscapes, made as natural as life with
| green, grassy sOds, messy rocks, and
dwarfed trees, with silvery rivulet
flowing past.
But the reader will ask: ''How is the
exterior covered, and what is the effect"
| The great body of the outside is covert
with ears of corn, sawed lengthwise
| through the centre and nailed with two
brads, the fiat or cob side next to the
wall. To relieve the monotony, differ
ent colors are used, and white, re !,
| speckled, purple, and golden-yellOw ears
were obtained. The exterior is laid off
into panels, which are plainly marked
| by the varied colors of the great West
ern product. Next to the ground is
wainscoting of corn stalks, stripped of
their leaves and packed close together /
The entrances, windows, etc, are also .
bordered with corn stalks, prepared in
the same way. The railing of the towers .
is also covered with corn stalks and the .
long stalks of grain, wheat and oats, while .
the cap stones of the turrets are repre-
sented by the bushy heads of miIlet, |
bearded onts, and sorghum seed. Spring /
ing from the inmost corners of the tow
ers to the apex corners of the roof of the (
main pavilion are light festoOns, or, to .
use the architectural terms, flying but
tresscs, covered with sheaNcs of golden
grain and inparting an effect of mas
siveness to the structure. The roof lines
are harmoniously irregular, sweeping
from the central pavilion to the exterior
as the severa! front elevations require.
The broken and Irregular outline ""s IN
territorial. to give maximum surface
for decoration. The apertures in the
towers are spacious, generally OF an
arched style along the upper courses and
entrances, but angular i'll the ground
course. This purpose was also to give
variety of outline for decorative .purpo-
ses. Thus, while the structure IS of
composite and original architectural or
der, the plan is admirably adapted to the
uses to which it was designed.
In addition to the plans OF decoration
furnished by the artist, many original
and unique designs are worked out by
the decorators themselves. Panels are
laid out and covered with varlegated
ears, mostly sawed lengthwlse and some
cut crosswise to the eur, forming prlght
rosettes about an inch thick and OF the
diameter of the corn car. slender
nail through the centre Ct the cob holds
each piece in place, and many fanciful
designs arc thus made Signs and
notices are made, the borders being
stock denuded of blades and en- S, inter
woven with golden wheat straw and
somhre-colored sorghum heads, The
letters are made by fastening the corn
rosettes as above and n very gorgeous
style OF block letter is produced. The
windows OF all the towers are lattlced
with corn ears strung on wires. Some
are purple, some are red, others yellow,
and still others white, giving that varie-
ty of coloring which is ut once the charm
and novelty of the general effect.
Viewed from the distance of a blocl or
two the trifing Irregularities Of detail
are soltencd, anda magnificent blending
of color is presented to the eye. The
prevailing shade, of course, is yellow,
while the red and white of the corn
cars, the brown of the sorghum, and the
dead green of the corn blades relieve the
outward surface of mOnOtony which
might ordinarily have been expected,
while the varying heights of the salient
outlines add charm of perspective,
with lights and shadows, that combine
to produce a singularly beautiful and
striking effect.
The interior of the palace is veritab,y
a realm of enchantment. Under the
brightness shed by half hundred cleo
4r; Il 1I, re oft 1,,CrhtfolI II rlCnSnntS
appearance that rivals fairy and. From
the rough plank walls, ungainly posts,
and a high vaulting dome of irregular
outline and unaightly rough surface has
been created a bower of beauty never
before equa.ed in any cline. And all
this marvel was worked without the aid
of those adjunets of decorative art
which have heretofore been eemed es-
sential to the plans of skilled artisans.
There is no tinsel of fine material, no
precious metals, no use of costly pig
ments. An ear of yellow corn, n hand
full of praire grass, n bunch of un-
slightly weeds, wisp of golden straw
these are the materials used. Over one
hundred of the foremost ladies OF the
city have worked faithfully for two
weeks, and it is the touch of their deft
fingers, moved by the genius of art, that
has transformed such uncOuth and SIM
pie objects into bower of beauty. The
ladies, before beginning the work, met
in the palace and formed an organiza-
ton that the work might go forward
systematically. They divided into
groups of eight or ten, each band under
a chosen leader, and to each group was
assigned certain portion Of the space
to decorate and beautify as fancy and ar-
tistic taste should direct.
One took post which was made into
q beautiful Corinthian column, another
took a panel between two windows and
worked thereon a landscape made entire
ly of corn blades and kernels; another
put up a winding stairway with ballus
ters of white popcorn, and ascending the
stairs is beautiful doll dressed in husks
and silks of corn; another makes snow
white bells of inverted peach baskets
upon which parched corn is glued, and
for clapper, o red apple serves an ad-
mirable purpose. In convenient cor
ner is strung q huge spiders web made
of grains strung on wires, and which at
distance is strikingly realistic. Scat
tered about the walls are appropriate
notices curiously wrought with corn
and other field grains and trasses. The
rough posts that support the galleries
are covered with corn aud changed INTO
Ionic, Doric, Gothic, and Corinthlan