Piasa, Alton
Facts and practical information
The Piasa or Piasa Bird is a Native American mythical creature depicted in one of two murals painted by Native Americans on cliffsides above the Mississippi River. Its original location was at the end of a chain of limestone bluffs in Madison County, Illinois at present-day Alton, Illinois. The original Piasa illustration no longer exists; a newer 20th-century version, based partly on 19th-century sketches and lithographs, has been placed on a bluff in Alton, Illinois, several hundred yards downstream from its origin. The limestone rock quality is unsuited for holding an image, and the painting must be regularly restored. The original site of the painting was on lithographic limestone, which was quarried away in the late 1870s by the Mississippi Lime Company. ()
Great River RdAltonAlton 62002
Piasa – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)
Nearby attractions include: Alton Prison, Clark Bridge, Alton Little Theater, McPike Mansion.