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The South Carolina State Museum’s “Concrete City”

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Miniature concrete buildings on the edge of a body of water

“Concrete City” as seen in L.C. Carson’s home in Orangeburg in the 1980s.

Photo provided by the South Carolina State Museum

Welcome to “Concrete City,” a folk art environment composed of 32 miniature buildings created by Leslie Cosgrove “L.C.” Carson. L.C. created these works of art — which include versions of the Parthenon, the Sphinx, and the Colosseum — in his own backyard using cultured marble, concrete, and other found objects.

The artist and his family donated all of the handcrafted buildings to the South Carolina State Museum in the 1990s, and now, thanks to a generous grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, “Concrete City” is being rehoused and cared for so that it can continue to be preserved for years to come.*

Explore “Concrete City” + what inspired its creator

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