Missouri Life September 2023

WALLS OF

STORY Susan Atteberry Smith

O n your drives through Missouri, you may glimpse murals brightening the streetscapes of small towns and big cities. If those murals really capture your attention, you will slow down or even park nearby to get a closer look—and to ponder stories told large, in paint, on walls of old buildings or once-overlooked alleys. Murals tell stories of railroads or riverboats, of founders, famous people, and points of pride. They tell of beloved residents their hometowns will never forget. Whatever their stories, murals lure thousands off the highways—even off the Mississippi River—to roam revitalized artistic and business districts and learn more about communities through larger-than-life pictures.

VISITJOPLIN.COM, LORI MALCOLM, SUSAN ATTEBERRY SMITH

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