Mississippi Mud Mural (on the Brown Bag Bistro building) at 310 E. Broadway
Artist: Dave Douglas
Year Dedicated: 1999
A tribute to important figures in Alton, the muralist Dave Douglas depicts the Lovejoy Memorial spearhead and Urban League activist Jesse Cannon, Alton Memorial Hospital founder Eunice Smith, Hayner Public Library founder Jennie D. Hayner, late senator and River Road Bike Trail pioneer Sam Vadalabene and a composite painting of a Native American. It also includes a cheeky rendition of the Piasa Bird, complete with glasses. Douglas thought perhaps the mythical creature mistook the Natives it reportedly ate for featherless chickens and needed eyeglasses. The mural is 23 feet high by 18 feet wide and the artist credited former Mississippi Mud owner Ken Barnett for helping with the project.
