The most distinctive sight in Cape Girardeau is a long stretch of the concrete floodwall along the riverfront, painted with a series of murals depicting the history of the Mississippi River and the region. The murals stretch for several blocks and cover subjects ranging from Native American life before European contact through Lewis and Clark, the Civil War, the Trail of Tears, and the steamboat era that made river towns like Cape Girardeau into genuine commercial centres.
The quality of the artwork is consistently strong — these are not amateur efforts but seriously commissioned works that repay slow examination. The riverside walk beside the murals offers good views of the river itself, which here is wide, powerful, and fast-moving in a way that the upper Mississippi is not. Best viewed in morning or late afternoon light. Free to visit at any time.