Driving into downtown from the north, you used to be assaulted by billboards as you crossed the Broadway Bridge. Not anymore: Looming to the left, painted on the side of an old River Market building, there's now a mural of a steamboat chugging along next to a raft in the muddy Missouri, with some cows and a rudimentary settlement on the verdant bluffs above, everything sheltered under a cloudy midwestern sky. Over the summer, artists Jesus Ortiz, Alisha Gambino, and Joseph Faus completed the mural, which is based on a well-known 1853 lithograph, after River Market loft developer Mel Mallin conceived of the project, raised the money, got the building owner's blessing, and hired the artists. The image says "Kansas City" like no other.
