Take a colorful trip around our river city and experience the wide variety of murals you’ll find all over town!

The “Welcome to Cape Girardeau” Mural on the river side of the floodwall is a great place to start soaking in local murals. It’s an Instagram-worthy spot that sketches the history of our community.  (Address: Intersection of Broadway and Water streets, walk through the floodgate at Broadway and Water and see the mural on the river side of the floodwall)

On the town side of the floodwall, the “Mississippi River Tales Mural” contains 24 panels covering nearly 18,000 square feet. Each panel brings to life (almost literally – historic characters and events seem to leap off the concrete floodwall!) a different historical event in Cape Girardeau. Storyboards in front of each panel give you the background behind the artwork; a stroll along this mural will tell you the story of Cape Girardeau. This mural was created by Chicago artist Thomas Melvin in collaboration with local artists and was dedicated in 2005. Fill out this interactive Mural Mania quiz as you enjoy this piece of public art! (Address: Intersection of Broadway and Water streets)

Further south, again on the town side of the flood wall, the “Missouri Wall of Fame Mural” highlights famous Missouri faces who were born here or achieved fame in the Show State such as Harry Truman, George Washington Carver and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Storyboards tell the story behind each individual included in this mural. (Address: Intersection of Independence and Water streets)

The nostalgic “Coca-Cola Mural” was originally painted in 1940 and was rediscovered in 1978 when the building was being sand blasted. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. had the mural restored to its original appearance, and it’s found on the north side of Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant right outside the Themis street floodgates of the floodwall. This mural made a brief appearance in the opening credits of 2013’s Gone Girl movie. (Address: 19 N. Water Street)

The “Bicentennial Mural” on the southwest corner of Broadway and Fountain streets was created to celebrate Cape Girardeau’s 200th anniversary in 1993. It depicts significant community founders, visionaries and leaders such as Ensign Girardot, a French Lieutenant who established a trading post here in the early 1700s, Louis Lorimier, who settled the community in the late 1700s and Louis Houck, who brought the first railroad to Cape Girardeau in the early 1900s. (Address: 405 Broadway)

The “Inland Waterways Mural“, located in the lobby of the River Campus, was created by SEMO alumni Gary Lucy and is a tribute to the history of the Mississippi River and its travelers; it illustrates the Great Steamboat Race of 1870. (Address: 518 S. Fountain Street)

Originally located at Water and Themis streets and repainted on the building at 11 South Spanish street, the “River Heritage Mural” was designed in 1986 and showcases the impact of the river on Cape Girardeau. (Address: 11 S. Spanish Street)

Unique mosaic tile murals adorn the Lorimier Street side of the Southeast Missourian building. Called “The Art of Printing” and “Gathering and Disseminating the News,” these two murals were completed in 1947 by the Mosaic Tile Company of Zanesville, Ohio. (Address: 301 Broadway, viewed from the Lorimier Street side of the building)

The eye-catching “Riverfest Mural” overlooks Spanish Street and honors a community event that used to be held downtown. (Address: 117 N. Main Street, viewed from Spanish Street, one street west of Main)

The musical history of Cape Girardeau shines in the “Heritage of Music Mural” on the west side of Shivelbine’s, a long-time music store in Cape Girardeau. (Address: 533 Broadway)

Learn more about the murals in Cape Girardeau here, and download a comprehensive public art booklet from our friends at the Arts Council here!

Share your artistic adventure – tag your mural pictures with #VisitCape.