Cuba Route 66 Murals: Walking Through History in Missouri’s Mural City

Route 66 Mural City

Where Are the Cuba Route 66 Murals?

Location: Downtown Cuba and Route 66 (Washington Street) corridor, Cuba, MO 65453

Visitor Center: Cuba Visitor Center, I-44 at Exit 208 (northbound side of the interchange)

Mural Map: Available free at the Visitor Center, area restaurants, and at cubamomurals.com

Hours: Murals are permanently installed on public and business buildings — viewable at any hour. The Visitor Center keeps regular daytime hours; verify at cubamomurals.com.

Admission: Free. All 14 outdoor murals are on public-facing building exteriors at no charge.

[AFFILIATE LINK: Booking.com — lodging in Cuba, MO and surrounding Route 66 corridor]

Driving Context: Cuba sits on Historic Route 66 / I-44 at Exit 208 (Highway 19). It is approximately 90 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis and 45 miles northeast of Rolla. From I-44, take Exit 208 south onto Highway 19, then turn west on Washington Street (Route 66) to enter the mural district. Most murals are within a 6-block walkable stretch of Washington Street and the surrounding downtown. Street parking is free and generally easy to find.

The History of the Cuba Route 66 Murals

Cuba Before the Murals

Route 66 was paved through Cuba in 1931, and Washington Street became the town’s commercial spine. Restaurants, filling stations, motels — including the Wagon Wheel, which still stands today — lined the alignment. The highway brought prosperity. Interstate 44 arrived in the 1960s and pulled traffic away from the old downtown, as it did to most Route 66 communities. By the 1980s, Cuba faced the familiar challenge of a bypassed Main Street.

Viva Cuba and the Mural Project

“Route 66 Mural City”

The Murals Today

The 14 murals are spread across downtown Cuba and the Route 66 corridor, painted on the exterior walls of local businesses, former commercial buildings, and public spaces. Each mural includes a text panel explaining the historical event or subject depicted. A Mural Map available at the Visitor Center lists the location, title, artist, and date of each work. During the annual Cuba Fest, Viva Cuba offers narrated trolley tours aboard a 1904-style motorized trolley — the most structured way to experience the full collection with historical context.

The Stories the Murals Tell

Amelia Earhart in Cuba

On September 4, 1928 — just months after her historic transatlantic flight — Amelia Earhart made a forced emergency landing in Cuba. The mural painted by Shelly Smith Steiger and Julie Balogh Brand, located at Ryle’s Carwash on West Washington Street (Route 66), depicts this unexpected visit. The image connects Cuba directly to one of the most famous figures in American aviation history, and the story behind it is genuinely obscure enough to surprise most visitors.

Bette Davis and the Paparazzo

In November 1948, Academy Award-winning actress Bette Davis and her husband stopped in Cuba, reportedly eating turkey dinners at the Southern Hotel. Local reporter Wilburn Vaughn photographed them without permission. Davis’s husband chased Vaughn, who escaped and published the photo in the Cuba News and Review. The mural on the Cuba Free Press building at 501 East Washington captures this moment with the candid energy of a real news photograph. The accompanying plaque tells the full story.

Harry Truman’s Homecoming Campaign

In 1940, Senator Harry Truman — still three years away from the presidency — came to Cuba for a homecoming fair and campaigned for reelection in the area. The mural by artist Jay Ferger captures this visit and places Cuba in the lineage of Missouri political history. Truman was a Route 66 figure before he was a president: his home state was the Mother Road’s third state, and scenes like this one remind visitors that the highway ran through the full texture of American political life.

Apples, Barrels, and Local Industry

Some of the most visually arresting murals in the collection document Cuba’s economic history rather than its celebrity visitors. The Apples and Barrels mural — Viva Cuba’s second commission, completed in September 2001 — depicts Cuba’s dominant industry from 1895 to 1920, when the town was Missouri’s top apple producer. A more recent addition, A Day in the Cooperage (2018), celebrates the McGinnis family’s 50 years in barrel-making, a Cuba institution that now supplies wine and whiskey barrels worldwide from logs sourced within 100 miles of town.

What to Expect When You Visit

The murals are spread across a compact downtown that can be toured on foot from a single parking spot on Washington Street, or driven between if mobility is a concern. Washington Street is the Route 66 alignment through Cuba, and most murals are within a 6-block radius. Each mural is painted directly on a building exterior and is visible from the sidewalk. There are no gates, no queues, and no tickets.

Pick up the Mural Map at the Visitor Center (I-44 Exit 208) before starting — it lists every mural’s location, title, artist, and year, and makes the tour significantly more rewarding. The maps are also available at area restaurants and businesses. Without the map, it is easy to find the larger murals on Washington Street but miss the smaller ones tucked on side streets.

Honest caveats: some murals are on active business buildings, which means their full visibility depends on signage, vehicles, or temporary obstructions. A few are in better condition than others — outdoor murals fade and weather, and maintenance schedules vary. The Visitor Center and cubamomurals.com list current mural status.

Best Time to Visit and Photography Tips

Cuba’s murals are viewable year-round, but spring through fall offers the best combination of clear skies and comfortable walking temperatures. The annual Cuba Fest (typically held in fall) is the best time for the narrated trolley tour. Early morning or late afternoon light is flattering for mural photography — avoid midday sun in summer, which can create harsh shadows on painted surfaces.

• Most murals face east or south — morning light is ideal for the Washington Street murals. Position yourself across the street and shoot with the sun behind you for even, shadow-free illumination on the painted surface.
• The Bette Davis mural at 501 East Washington is best photographed with a slight angle to capture both the mural subject and the building’s historic brick facade in the same frame — this approach contextualizes the artwork within the Route 66 streetscape.
• The Amelia Earhart mural at Ryle’s Carwash is on a building set slightly off the main corridor — include the Route 66 signage visible from Washington Street in the frame to give the image geographic context for readers who aren’t familiar with the location.

Tips for Visiting the Cuba Route 66 Murals

• Pick up a Mural Map at the Cuba Visitor Center (I-44 Exit 208) before driving into downtown — it makes a significant difference in how much you see and understand.
• Allow at least 90 minutes for a thorough self-guided walking tour; 2 to 3 hours if you want to read every text panel and explore the surrounding historic district.
• The Wagon Wheel Motel at 901 East Washington is the oldest continuously operating motel on Route 66 and is a short walk from several murals — staying there makes the mural tour a natural part of your evening and morning.
• The Cuba Fest annual event (typically fall) features a narrated trolley tour of the murals by Viva Cuba — the best way to hear the full story of each work. Check cubamomurals.com for event dates.
• Most murals are on public sidewalks and are fully accessible. A few are on side streets with uneven pavement — wear comfortable shoes and bring water in warmer months.
• Missouri Hick BBQ and Frisco’s, both in downtown Cuba, are solid lunch and dinner options within walking distance of the mural district.

2026 Route 66 Centennial Connection

Frequently Asked Questions

How many murals are in Cuba, Missouri?

Cuba currently has 14 officially maintained outdoor murals, managed by the Viva Cuba organization. The collection began with 12 murals commissioned between 2001 and 2007 and has since grown. There are also additional indoor murals at local businesses throughout town. The outdoor murals are the ones mapped and described in the Mural Map available at the Visitor Center.

Is there a fee to see the murals in Cuba, Missouri?

No. All 14 outdoor murals are on public-facing building exteriors and are free to view at any time. The Mural Map at the Visitor Center is also free. The only cost associated with the murals is the optional narrated trolley tour offered during Cuba Fest.

Who painted the murals in Cuba, Missouri?

Multiple artists contributed to the collection. The first mural was painted by Shelly Smith — Cuba’s own high school art teacher — with assistance from Canadian muralist Michelle Loughery, who returned to paint a second mural. Other artists include Ray Harvey, Don Gray, Kelly Poling, the Whitesitt Group (St. Louis), Jay Ferger, and Norman Akers. Each artist’s name and mural date is listed on the Mural Map and at cubamomurals.com.

Are the Cuba murals actually on Route 66?

Yes. The main cluster of murals runs along Washington Street, which is the historic Route 66 alignment through Cuba. The Visitor Center is located at the I-44/Highway 19 interchange (Exit 208), and several murals are visible from or immediately adjacent to the Route 66 corridor. Cuba was formally designated the Route 66 Mural City by the Missouri legislature in 2002.

What is the best mural to see in Cuba, Missouri?

This depends on your interests. The Bette Davis mural (501 East Washington) is the most historically specific and narratively satisfying — the story behind it is genuinely surprising. The Amelia Earhart mural (Ryle’s Carwash, West Washington) has the most famous subject. The Apples and Barrels mural is the most visually expansive and tells the story of Cuba’s economic identity most fully. The Mural Map includes descriptions of all 14; most visitors find the ones that surprise them most are the local history pieces rather than the celebrity-focused murals.

Final Thoughts on the Cuba Route 66 Murals

Cuba’s murals work because they are specific. They are not generic celebrations of Route 66 nostalgia — they are carefully documented accounts of things that actually happened in a small Missouri town, painted large enough to see from the highway and detailed enough to read on foot. The Bette Davis story, the Earhart landing, the apple orchards, the mayor who paved the roads — these are the kinds of local details that make a place feel real rather than performed.

Nearby Route 66 Highlights

• CLOSED – Bob’s Gasoline Alley — just southwest of Cuba at 822 Beamer Lane — the most extensive Route 66 gasoline memorabilia collection in the Midwest, with outdoor displays viewable at any time.
• Rolla, Missouri — 45 miles southwest — home to the world’s only campus-scale Stonehenge replica, a documented Route 66 alignment through downtown, and the University of Missouri-S&T.