Issue 19, October 25, 1996
If you're headed to the beach for a fall weekend, you and your children can still enjoy some amusement park rides. The Family Kingdom Amusement Park (the one with the big roller coaster) is open on weekend days. The Pavilion is partially open; the children's rides are operating on weekend afternoons. The Fun Spot, a small park next door to Family Kingdom, even has a few rides operating on weekdays. All the parks schedules are subject to change, so call ahead before planning a trip.
The Headroom, an alternative rock venue in Magnolia Plaza in the Restaurant Row area, has closed. The club featured occasional guest performances by well known rock and rap artists, and might reopen once in a while for future concerts. One nightclub or another has been operating at the site since the mid 80's. It was originally Streamer's, a disco-oriented club known for dropping confetti on the floor dancers and having elaborate parties.
Leading into the Myrtle Beach area on U.S. 501 is a large sign for the new Carolina Forest complex. International Paper, which owns a large portion of the land on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway next to Myrtle Beach, has a thirty year development plan for 12,000 of those acres. Eventually as many as 10,000 homes housing 52,00 people, and 22 new golf courses, may be built. Eleven miles of roads are being paved now, and the company is cooperating with county officials in planning needed infrastructure. The first few facilities, including some housing and a shopping center, are under development or are open now.
Burroughs and Chapin, the Myrtle Beach giant that owns Broadway at the Beach, the Pavilion, Myrtle Square Mall, and other properties and land along the strand, is also planning a number of housing developments. Next to Broadway at the Beach will be a complex with about a dozen moderately priced national chain hotels and restaurants, plus several thousand apartment units renting for around $500 a month. Also planned is a time-share unit to be operated by the highest rated time-share company in the country. Burroughs and Chapin is planning to build three beach clubs, equipped with showers and restrooms, and operate a shuttle service to these and other Grand Strand attractions. Presumably the site of the Pavilion, to be moved inland in 1999, might factor into this.
The company is also planning two upscale beach resorts. The Grand Dunes will be built next to the Dunes residential area in northern Myrtle Beach, and will include a number of high-end hotels. At the southern end of Myrtle Beach a 75 acre resort is planned.
All this new development should take about ten years to implement.
On a recent trip to the Grand Strand I dropped in on the dueling pianos bar at Broadway at the Beach, in the entertainment complex. Many of you are probably familiar with these, but in case you aren't, two piano playing singers take requests from the audience and pound out the tunes. Much humor and audience singing along is involved. As you walk in the door, the two entertainers will announce loudly, 'NEW PEOPLE!', and everyone will look over at you (it's not too embarrassing, however). The material is entertaining, but some of it borders on the X-rated, so be forewarned.
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