Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Paducah's Murals

We got off the interstate to go dockside in Paducah, Kentucky. It sits just east of where the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi. There we found a series of perhaps 20 large murals painted on the flood walls depicting the city's history.


The city was founded and named by General William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame. He named it after the Indian nation of Padouca. Through the open door, there is a glimpse of the Ohio River.




At one time, Paducah was the strawberry capital of the world. School let out so that children could help with the harvest. A child is depicted in the field as the Strawberry Queen looks on.


Open gates in the wall permit vehicles to drive close to the water, but can be closed when necessary to help contain the rising river. 



By one of the unpainted flood walls, was this model of a prefab storm cellar. I had never heard of such a thing, though B said he had seen them advertised before.


1 comment:

Paul said...

I was in Paducah most recently this last March. Went downtown, of course, and saw the murals again. The quilt museum there is very good, even if you're not interested in quilts.