ARCOLA, Ill. (WAND) - The three-story Broom Palace provides excellent views of Downtown Arcola and plans to sweep visitors off their feet this fall.
"I think that turning into historic Downtown Arcola and seeing the Broom Palace sometimes looks out of place, but also it just fits right in our downtown," said Broomcorn Festival Coordinator Angie Miller.
The palace opened in 2025 and serves as a place for the town to show its pride and history.
"We are the Broomcorn Capitol of the world. We are still going to be called that because we used to produce a lot of broomcorn, [and] factories in town still have Libmann and The Monohan Company ... still honor the heritage with the Broomcorn Festival and the Palace," Miller said.
Previously, a towering palace made entirely of broomcorn stood for a time in 1898.
Inside the current palace, visitors can watch the skilled process of making broomcorn.
"People come in, and yeah, you think of a broom, you walk around and look at these brooms ... they are amazing, they are really, really pieces of art," Miller said.
The palace was entirely privately funded.
Now, the palace is raising money for an elevator to reach its sky deck, which will provide scenic views of the festival parade in September.
"We have hundreds of entries into the parade. You will see standard things like queens, old cars, people on horseback, but we have the Lawn Rangers, a huge draw. People love to come out and see the world-famous Lawn Rangers," Miller said.
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