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'Southern Hospitality' is a Venus flytrap sculpture of steel and colored fused glass by Wilmington sculptor Paul Hill, who worked with artist Stan Harmon, according to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (2011). A 2021 visitor guide described it as a 15-foot-high sculpture, and a 2024 Wilmington and Beaches visitor guide placed it on the Riverwalk near Market and Water streets. NC State says wild Venus flytraps occur naturally only within about 75 miles of Wilmington.
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Southern Hospitality giant Venus flytrap
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Site-level location · 34.2352° N, 77.9499° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Venus flytraps grow wild only in a small area around Wilmington, North Carolina, and a 2021 visitor guide describes a 15-foot sculpture of one there.
A July 2011 North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources blog post described Southern Hospitality as steel with colored fused glass, on the waterfront in Wilmington, and said New Bern artist Stan Harmon collaborated with Wilmington sculptor Paul Hill. A Wilmington-area visitor guide from 2021 describes a 15-foot-high metal-and-glass Venus flytrap sculpture reached from the foot of Market Street and credits it to Paul Hill, and an August 2024 guide places it near the intersection of Market and Water streets on the Riverwalk, calling it a sculpture that "highlights the indigenous species".
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PRACTICAL
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WHAT TO EXPECT
A public sculpture on a riverfront walkway. Admission, hours and access terms are not documented in the sources reviewed; check locally before visiting.
ACCESS
Corner of Water Street and Market Street, Wilmington Riverwalk, North Carolina.
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