Louisiana, Missouri is located alongside the Mississippi River on the Great River Road about 85 miles north of St. Louis and 33 miles south of Hannibal on State Route 79. This mural painted by Holly W. Dehner in 2002 is part of outdoor art collection started in 2000 by the Louisiana Mural Organization. So far, there are twenty-three murals and a twenty-acre sculpture park in downtown Louisiana. The town of Louisiana is situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and dates back to the early 1800s. The population is about 4000, and there are several antebellum homes and Victorian-era buildings downtown.

The mural, located on the side of the historic Louisiana Icehouse at 300 S. Main Street, depicts the KCS and BNSF railroads and the railroad bridge that spans the Mississippi River. Constructed in 1872, the bridge is the oldest "turn-span" bridge in the world. The bridge's sections can be rotated to allow river traffic to pass.

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Photographed by Gerald Thurman, 6/24/06
Posted on RoadTrip America 02/07