MURAL: BETTER THAN PEAR TREES?

Anyone who pays attention to murals in Cape Girardeau and there are some fine murals here and there has probably heard this: "Why can't we have murals as nice as Paducah's?"

Indeed, Paducah's floodwall along the Ohio River is graced with some outstanding murals. The Kentucky town's murals are part of what attracts visitors to the reviving downtown area.

So why can't Cape Girardeau have murals like that?

It can.

And, if the River Heritage Mural Association's next big project is as successful as commission members think it will be, folks in Paducah will be saying, "Why can't we have murals like the ones in Cape Girardeau?"

The latest mural project is expected to cost about $190,000. The mural commission realizes that high-quality murals will cost a lot of money -- a lot more than has been spent on some of the murals to date.

The 24 panels anticipated for this mural project will depict the history of Cape Girardeau, particularly the city's ties to the Mississippi River. The panels will be on the west side of the floodwall. Some of the panels will be north of the floodgate at Broadway, but most of the panel will be between Broadway and Independence Street.

So let's get this out of the way: What about all those pear trees along the floodwall? What will happen to them.

Perhaps Tim Blattner, president of the mural association, explains it best. He reminds us that the trees were planted to camouflage a bare concrete wall. But if the concrete wall has 24 high-quality mural panels, would there be a need for camouflage? Besides, he says, the Bradford pears have relatively short life spans. Some of the trees already have died.

But, it won't be the mural association's decision on what happens to the pear trees. And the association hopes its mural will be impressive enough that the pear trees won't be an issue.

Let's hope the mural association's plans are that good. What a splendid attraction it would be for Cape Girardeau's riverfront to have the kind of art that is pleasing to the eye, has historical importance and will last for years and years.

We'd welcome all those visitors from Paducah.