Flip the Switch event will light up river wall murals Thursday

Old Town Cape will host a Flip the Switch event Thursday evening at Themis and Water streets in downtown Cape Girardeau to celebrate new lights at the newly-cleaned, historic murals on the Mississippi River floodwall.

The program will commence at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, with remarks from Old Town Cape board president Danny Essner, and conclude with a countdown culminating in the flipping of the switch and simultaneously turning on all 24 of the newly installed LED lights. Each light illuminates one of the 24 panels of the Mississippi River Tales murals.

The effort to clean and illuminate the murals was started 12 years ago and was only recently brought to fruition after advances in lighting technology made it practical and affordable, according to a news release.

“We are excited to see this transformation of Water Street after dark, not only allowing visitors to view our murals at night, but also making Water Street brighter and safer for pedestrians!” Essner said in the release.

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