Giant Corn Gazebo
Olivia, Minnesota
In 2005 the town of Olivia was christened "Seed Corn Capital of the World" by the Minnesota state Senate. Its status as a corn-happy town, however, goes back to 1973, when this giant fiberglass ear of corn was erected along Highway 212.
The story goes that Bob Rauenhorst, owner of Trojan Seed Company, wanted an ear of corn bigger than any other. A 23-foot-long ear of corn water tower atop a steel base in Rochester was established as the one to beat, so Olivia's was made two feet longer, then perched on end atop a 25-foot-tall gazebo, making the half-husked cob an impressive 50 feet high.
Rauenhorst died in a plane crash only five years later. A plaque at the gazebo remembers him, but his biggest memorial remains his record-breaking ear of corn.