Flood Wall Murals

We looked at the murals along Paducah’s riverfront after dinner one evening in the revitalized downtown area. The riverfront was alive with locals and visitors, and the murals, with their sponsored plaques, are lessons about the long history of this river town. There’s also a 1920s vintage Mikado train engine and several train cars on display beside the murals. We were there on a Friday night, and there was live music (though not too many people were paying attention to the band.)
Note that if visiting from out of town it may not be clear what to do when you arrive at the mural wall — all the streets are one-​way, and it looks like if you drive toward the river you will go into the water. In fact you can drive «through» the wall and down to the riverside, then turn right and exit the riverfront.
Also in the downtown area is a very good farmers’ market on Saturday mornings. It’s located near the excellent National Quilt Museum.
Paducah has done a great job of revitalizing its historic downtown and riverfront. It has attracted a lot of artists and craftspeople and has become known as a regional arts and crafts center.

It is hard to miss these murals when you are wondering around Paducah. I could not find the history of these, but they all tell the story of Paducah. You can get a walk and learn while you are at it… Most people drive by in their cars, but they do have a sidewalk in my opinion it is the best way to view them.

I did not have time to properly digest all of the murals but from what I saw they were well done and a nice addition to the area, making a utilitarian structure artful while capturing history.

I loved this walk! It is a large mural that is painted along the flood wall along the Ohio River. Not only are the murals beautifully painted, but I love that each one has a plaque that gives the history and meaning behind each one. It gives you a brief, but informative, history lesson of Paducah. And better yet… it’s FREE!

Really beautiful! A must see if you’re in town.

Very neat to see a town with such great history. The flood wall murals are really well painted and tell the story of Paducah’s history with vivid colors and extreme detail. The paintings truly look 3D. The downtown area is also crowded with wonderful bakery’s, BBQ, and bars and defiantly worth a stop off the highway if your driving by Paducah take the time to go enjoy a pit stop in this wonderful historical city!

Paducah is an old historical town along the Ohio River a few miles upstream from the Mississippi River. A lot of the old historical structure were torn down many years ago and left as vacant lots. Never knew why that was done. There is some preservation though with the murals painted on the flood wall in downtown Paducah. By the was the flood wall is still very active and has been used in recent years to keep flood waters out of downtown Paducah. The last big flood was in 1937 and the flood wall was built after that flood. The murals depict various actives, buildings, etc. within Paducah over the last several decades. The paintings are excellent and well worth your time to view. Plenty of free parking close by so you don’t have far to walk. Two weeks you might want to avoid, if all you are going for is the downtown and flood wall, then wait until after the quilt show and the annual Bar B Q On The River. Both weeks the downtown is packed. If that is your thing and you like crowds, then go those two weeks.

A nice walk on the shore where a flood wall doubles as a Historic Mural. I certainly wouldn’t come JUST to see it, but they are interesting if you happened to be in the area. I honestly wish they were more chronological though!
Worth a look if you are in the area.

History comes alive on the waterfront. Great short walk along the land side of the flood wall, near fun shops and restaurants. I’m from Greater St. Louis, and can’t think of anything quite so interesting near our river. Especially delightful on a spring or fall evening, after drinks or dinner. Worth the drive into historic downtown from I-​24. LOCAL COLOR, not farmer’s market. Hoping HQ will correct.