Cuba, Missouri is known as the town “where art meets history” and you can see the spirit of that moniker on nearly every street corner. The Route 66 murals in Cuba depict historic scenes with both local and national themes. Created between 2001 and 2007, the public art in this “Route 66 Mural City” memorializes celebrity visits from Harry S. Truman, Amelia Earhart and Bette Davis; revisits the Civil War; and celebrates the golden age of travel on The Mother Road. You can learn more about the murals here.
On September 4, 1928 Amelia Earhart made a forced emergency landing in Cuba. (Ryle’s Carwash, West Washington on Route 66) (artist: Shelly Smith Steiger and Julie Balogh Brand)
Local banker A.J. Barnett who owned Cuba’s first Model T. (Washington and Buchanan)
Prosperity Corner was the place in Cuba to meet and greet, do business, or pass the time in the 1900s. Originally part of H.H. Tieman’s General Merchandise Store, today the mural showcases scenes from that time period on the side of modern day Hayes Shoe Store. (E. Washington) (artist: Kelly Poling)
The Gold Star Boys on the “Blue Bonnet” train that transported soldiers during WWII. (Washington and Filmore)
This mural depicts Al West Sr. who served as mayor of Cuba from 1946-1958 and was credited with modernizing the city by paving and lighting the town’s streets, extending the water and sewer systems, and purchasing the electrical system. (E. Washington) (Artists: from the Whitesitt Group in St. Louis, MO)
The Roberts-Judson Millworks mural recreates the look of the 1948 lumber, custom woodworking, and sheet metal production business. (N. Smith Street) (artist: Shelly Smith Steiger and Julie Balogh Brand )
History at the 4-Way Mural (Hwy. 19 and Rt. 66) (artist: Ray Harvey)
A mural depicting Senator Harry Truman, and the Homecoming Fair he attended in the area, who campaigned for reelection in Cuba in 1940. (artist: Jay Ferger)
Academy Award winning actress Bette Davis stayed at the Southern Hotel in Cuba in November, 1948. A photographer snapped their photo against their will and was chased by Davis’s husband. He got away and the photo appeared in the Cuba News and Review. (Cuba Free Press Building, E. Washington) (artist: Ray Harvey)
The River Mural (North Franklin and W. Spencer) ( Smith Steiger and Balogh Brand)
Viva Cuba’s Civil War mural depicting the Battle of the Huzzah and Confederates in Cuba (artist: Don Gray. text: Julie Nixon Krovicka)
Viva Cuba’s Civil War murals depicting the Battle of Pilot Knob and Destroying the Fort (artist: Don Gray. text: Julie Nixon Krovicka)
The Rescue at Leasburg (artist: Don Gray. text: Julie Nixon Krovicka)
Not Pictured: The Osage Meeting mural depicting a meeting between the Osage and French settlers led by Auguste Chouteau and Jean Pierre Chouteau (Buchanan); the A Day in the Cooperage mural honoring the McGinnis Wood Products’ 50th anniversary (Mace’s Grocery on Washington Street ).
The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book
Everything You Need to Have and Record an Epic Road Trip!
Enjoy fun games and challenges to pass the time on your next road trip and have a keepsake to look back on for years to come with this entertaining must-have for your next vacation.
Cuba, Missouri is known as the town “where art meets history” and you can see the spirit of that moniker in the colorful Route 66 murals in Cuba. Stop at this road trip stop on your Route 66 road trip through Missouri. Add it to your travel bucket list, road trip ap, or itinerary of things to do in the state.
Val is the founder and head road tripper at Silly America. Having grown up near Berwyn's famed car kabob, The Spindle, and a restaurant with a cow on its roof, her fascination with roadside attractions started early. Today, Val has visited hundreds roadside attractions across the United States and is constantly on the lookout for the next BIG thing!
Everything You Need to Have and Record an Epic Road Trip!
BY Valerie Bromann
Enjoy fun games and challenges to pass the time on your next road trip and have a keepsake to look back on for years to come with this entertaining must-have for your next vacation.
The road trip you’ve been dreaming of starts here! Journal about your stops and get to know your fellow passengers with activities and exercises designed to pass the time and bring you closer together. Instead of “Are we there yet?” you’ll find yourself asking, “We’re there already?”. Complete with prompts you can turn to while driving between locations, this journal will one day be a memento of your life-changing trip.
