- Myrtle Beach Boardwalk
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The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk & Promenade, located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, officially opened in May 2010 at a cost of nearly $6.4 million[1] and runs 1.2 miles (1.9 km) along the oceanfront from the Pier 14 at 14th Avenue North to the 2nd Avenue Pier at 2nd Avenue North. National Geographic has ranked Myrtle Beach Boardwalk number three in the United States,[2] while Travel and Leisure ranked the boardwalk number two.[3]
Contents
Description
The northern section, with a raised wooden deck design,[4] runs from Pier 14 to Plyler Park, the location of "Hot Summer Nights", with live music twice a week during the summer[5], and weekly attractions that include a "Kids Carnival", bagpipes, and a Dixieland band.[6] The middle section, from Plyler Park to the former site of Myrtle Beach Pavilion, has "a carnival atmosphere accompanied by restaurants, bars and gift shops".[5] The Southern Promenade,[7] from the former Pavilion to 2nd Avenue Pier, city officials describe as a "meandering oceanfront park"[5] with benches and landscaping.[4] The 2nd Avenue Pier is the location of weekly fireworks. The contractor responsible for constructing the MB Boardwalk Project is M.B. Kahn Construction Co., Inc.[8], according to city officials,[5] used close to 770,000 board-feet of lumber, 555,000 screws, and 300,000 nails. The city contributed 600 palmetto trees and 50,000 beach grass seedlings.[9]
National attention
Even during the boardwalk's construction, the national media showed interest in the boardwalk.[7] CBS' The Early Show, including meteorologist Dave Price, broadcast live on May 14, 2010, the weekend of the official opening.[10] Team Sandtastic made a sand sculpture of Price. Also, Cake Boss Buddy Valastro from TLC helped produce a 10-foot 1200-pound cake in the shape of a flip-flop, made in Hoboken, New Jersey and delivered to the May opening ceremony. The episode aired October 25, 2010.[11][12][13] Travel and Leisure named Myrtle Beach Boardwalk the number two boardwalk mainly because of the entertainers, and The Today Show featured the report.[3][14] On July 14, 2010, National Geographic ranked the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk behind the boardwalks at Atlantic City and Coney Island, and calling it "the town's hub of activity".[2] Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce president Brad Dean estimated that publicity resulting from the boardwalk reached the equivalent of more than $1 million. [15]
Reception
Visitors have given overwhelmingly positive reviews to the boardwalk. Despite some concerns about safety, and the lack of city money for a special boardwalk patrol, most people have felt very safe, and the police department reports few incidents. David Sebok, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Redevelopment Corporation, has received calls from most business owners who opposed the boardwalk, saying they are happy now. The number of area businesses increased even before summer's end, and those who already had businesses along the boardwalk reported higher income; some reported their best July ever. Additional development includes SkyWheel near Plyler Park, which at 187 feet[15] is the largest ferris wheel in the United States east of the Mississippi River, and similar in design to the one on Canada's side of Niagara Falls.[16][17] The Collins family planned to spend $7.5 million on the Second Avenue Pier area.[15]
On September 8, the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation met to look at the results of surveys of more than 900 people and found tourists and local people gave the boardwalk a 4.5 out of 5. [18]
History
Myrtle Beach had a wooden boardwalk in the 1930s and 1940s. After being upgraded with concrete, it was destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. All that remained was a concrete walkway between 9th Avenue North and 11th Avenue North, later renamed Mr. Joe White Avenue.[19] The 1999 Pavilion Area Master Plan included a boardwalk.[15] When the Pavilion closed in 2006 after 58 years, area merchants wanted an attraction to replace it. A mile-long boardwalk had been discussed for several years, but the estimated cost was $10 million, and even if construction started in 2007, it would not be complete until 2010. A major storm could also damage the new attraction. Sebok said "Most tourists expect a boardwalk ... and we really don't have one to speak of." [20]
The city allocated $285,000 for design, and The LandArt Co. made preliminary sketches that included benches and planters.[21] By 2007, the cost estimate had risen to $12 million and the start date was Fall 2008. The city was considering several payment methods. City manager Tom Leath wanted a tax district where businesses nearby would pay more because they would benefit more, while some believed the entire city should contribute since the boardwalk would be good for everyone. Opponents of the tax district wondered if small businesses could pay. Some people worried about crime and vagrants.[22]
A design with "a traditional wood-plank walkway" and "a meandering concrete sidewalk ... with wooden crosswalks to the beach, colorful shade sails and public parks" was preseented to city council Aug. 14, 2007, but funding was still not set.[23] Burroughs & Chapin, which had torn down the Pavilion building and cleared the 11-acre (45,000 m2) site of the amusement park over the previous year,[24] agreed to pay for the section across the 11-acre (45,000 m2) Pavilion site, using a design matching that in the other areas.[23]
Groundbreaking took place in September 2009, despite a dispute between the city and Burroughs & Chapin, with a question over whether the company would pay for its section. Nevertheless, the company supported the boardwalk and expected its plans for the Pavilion site would benefit. The cost of the project had been cut in half,[25] mainly due to the economic slowdown, making companies more eager to get work. A controversial sales tax for tourism promotion has made it possible, without raising property taxes in the area, to pay off bonds the city issued to finance the project.[15]
The boardwalk was finished from 14th Avenue to 4th Avenue early in April.[26] The boardwalk opened in May 2010 with a ribbon-cutting held May 15 as part of the Beach Music Festival. It attracted people from the area and across the country who had not been downtown in years.[9] The southernmost section, beyond 4th Avenue, was not complete until June.[10]
References
- ^ "Did you know ...?". City of Myrtle Beach. http://www.cityofmyrtlebeach.com/didyouknow.html. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b "Top 10 U.S. Boardwalks". National Geographic. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/us-boardwalks/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b "Myrtle Beach Boardwalk Named Among Top in U.S.". MBSun. 2010-06-23. http://www.mbsun.com/article/view/myrtle-beach-boardwalk-named-among-top-in-u.s/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b "Boardwalk and Promenade". City of Myrtle Beach. http://www.cityofmyrtlebeach.com/boardwalk.html. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b c d "National Geographic honors MB Boardwalk on Top 10 list". WMBF. 2010-07-14. http://www.wmbfnews.com/global/story.asp?s=12807906. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "Myrtle Beach Boardwalk". visitmyrtlebeach.com. http://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com/boardwalk/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b "Myrtle Beach Boardwalk Well Underway". The MB Sun. 2010-01-02. http://www.mbsun.com/article/view/myrtle-beach-boardwalk-well-underway/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ "M.B. Kahn Construction Co., Inc". http://www.mbkahn.com.
- ^ a b Jake Spring, "Myrtle Beach boardwalk, budget get attention," The Sun News, May 25, 2010.
- ^ a b "CBS Early Show, crowd celebrate Myrtle Beach Boardwalk grand opening". WBTW. 2010-05-14. http://www2.scnow.com/news/2010/may/14/cbs_early_show_crowd_celebrates_myrtle_beach_board-ar-356151/. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Spring, Jake (2010-10-24). "Giant cake puts eyes on Myrtle Beach". The Sun News. http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/10/24/1768820/giant-cake-puts-eyes-on-mb.html. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
- ^ "Myrtle Beach Boardwalk Celebrations". Alternatives. 2010-05-26.
- ^ "Cake Boss: Season 3, Episode 19, 'Sandals, Sandwiches & Shelves': Video on Demand: R". amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Sandals-Sandwiches-Shelves/dp/B00498VTB8. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "The best beach boardwalks". msnbc.com. 2010-06-23. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/37869753#37869753. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b c d e Anderson, Lorena (2010-07-19). "Boardwalk buoys business for Myrtle Beach". The Sun News. http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/07/18/1591600/boardwalk-buoys-business-for-mb.html. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ^ Anderson, Lorena (2010-06-15). "Ferris wheel may roll to Myrtle Beach". The Sun News. http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/06/15/1533254/ferris-wheel-may-roll-to-mb.html?storylink=mirelated. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ^ Bryant, Dawn (2011-05-20). "SkyWheel, LandShark eatery debuted today in Myrtle Beach". The Sun News. http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/05/20/2169158/skywheel-landshark-eatery-debut.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ Anderson, Lorena (2010-09-09). "Myrtle Beach boardwalk gets visitors' approval". The Sun News. http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/09/09/1682555/myrtle-beach-boardwalk-gets-visitors.html. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- ^ Lorena Anderson, "Myrtle Beach Boardwalk: Building a beach icon," The Sun News, March 15, 2008.
- ^ Dawn Bryant, "Owners wait for the walk: Many see the idea as a replacement for The Pavilion," The Sun News, April 4, 2006.
- ^ Dawn Bryant, "Council shells out for design, permits for MB boardwalk", The Sun News, July 30, 2006.
- ^ Lisa Fleisher, "Downtown may fund boardwalk: Project's neighbors would pay more," The Sun News, April 8, 2007.
- ^ a b Lisa Fleisher and Jan A. Igoe, "Boardwalk hinges on funds: Design gains support, but some downtown businesses balk at tax," The Sun News, August 15, 2007.
- ^ Dawn Bryant, "Demolition tears into tradition: Plan for Pavilion land remains a mystery," The Sun News, Dec. 6, 2006.
- ^ Monique Newton, "B&C, Myrtle Beach move ahead on boardwalk," The Sun News, September 21, 2009.
- ^ Allen, Joel (2010-04-02). "Myrtle Beach Boardwalk opens". WPDE. http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=438868. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
External links
Categories:- Visitor attractions in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Buildings and structures in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
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