The Myrtle Beach Pavilion

[Pirate1974]

If you grew up in the Southeast, especially the Carolinas, you've probably been to Myrtle Beach, SC at least once. If you've been to Myrtle Beach, you've probably been to the Pavilion at least once. At 8th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, it's been the heart of Myrtle Beach since 1948.

There's been a pavilion on this site since 1900, when the Burroughs family decided to turn this mostly deserted strip of sand into the "Coney Island of the South." The previous structures all burned down, but the current one was built to last. It was one of the few buildings to survive the legendary Hurricane Hazel in 1954, which wiped out almost everything on the beach from Wilmington to Pawley's Island.

My first visit to the Pavilion was in the summer of 1961 and I thought it was the coolest place I'd ever seen. We were much less sophisticated in those days. The downstairs was all games, mostly of the pinball variety and the old baseball games where you hit a real little ball with a real little bat instead of manipulating a CGI version of Barry Bonds. Across the street were the amusement park rides. The teenagers hung out at the Attic upstairs where you could shag to the Chairmen of the Board, the Catalinas, the Embers or one of the many versions of the Drifters. It was one of the few places (maybe the only one) where kids under 18 could go hear live music in those days. One of the great things to do was just hang out on the upstairs deck and watch the girls walking up and down Ocean Boulevard. You could make a whole night out of that.

This is the last summer for the Myrtle Beach Pavilion. It closes September 30 for good and then it comes down, to be replaced by "mixed-use development," which will more than likely be another high-rise hotel or condo building. Another part of my childhood gone forever. You can't blame the owners, I guess. The place has been losing money for years as more attractions out on the highway have siphoned off business.

Next week I'm going to pay my respects before the wrecking ball comes, and take my kids to see it. I'm sure they'll think it's hopelessly out-dated like everything older than the 1990's. I won't see it as a 58-year old building that's showing it's age. I'll see it as it was in the summer of 1967, when a 14-year old boy spent $2.00 on the ten cent skee-ball game to win a teddy bear for a girl whose name has been long forgotten.

You can't tear down the memories.

[RumRunner]

Heh - The Jolly Roger on Long Island - circa the same time - those great 60's - skee ball - pin ball and the biggest hot pastrami sandwhiches you could ever dream of. I know what you mean.

[George Aar]

I think things happen a little faster out here on the left coast.

All of my childhood hangouts were torn down, rebuilt, and torn down a couple times more since I was in my teens. Most everything is a condominium complex or a strip-mall now.

"Playland" was the coolest place I remember around Seattle.

It had a dirt-track raceway out front with a 10' high board fence around it. And inside it had a "log flume" ride that was awesome! Then all the normal "carny" kinda stuff and a parachute drop and other assorted rides. That closed down in the mid 60's to be replaced by a litany of different stores, and is currently the home of a Lowe's Home Improvement center.

And such has been the fate of just about everyplace I spent a minute of my youth. It gets so I don't recognize much of anything here anymore.

Ah well, I'm soundling like my cranky old uncle...

[Cowgirl]

I was just at the "Starlite Drive In" (one of the last few remaining in all of Canada) with my kids, had a great time and the movie we were watching had this song playing in it, by James Taylor. When I was reading your thread, Pirate, it came to mind..................

HERE

Cowgirl

[shazdancer]

Hey, Pirate,

My mom lives nearby, so we've been there. Yeah, there are several other pinball palaces in the area, and between those and I have no idea how all of those (and the ZILLION tourist shops) make enough money during the height of tourist season to make up for the ghost town the place becomes in the off-season.

How many Myrtle Beach key chains and T-shirts can a person need?

Maybe they're looking more to cater to the adults-with-money (golf) and families that go down there. More money, less mess than the college crowd.

Sorry to see it go, but it was inevitable, I think.

-- Shaz

[GeorgeStGeorge]

Ha! When I saw "shagging" I was thinking a la Austin Powers.

I forgot that "shag" was a term for a slow jitterbug. (I saw the movie a few years ago.)

There were a few small carnival-type places near me when I was growing up. I could spend hours at skee-ball or a shooting gallery.

All gone, now, of course. :(

George

[JCHEV]

...well, the Embers singin' up on Ocean Drive,

And the Castaways are gettin'loud tonight

At the Electric Circus, they all gettin' down

And the Carousel's spinnin' round and round..

..See them Dancing, Shaging on the Boulevard.

. it's too bad, the times they are a changin.............Jim

[Peruser]

Shaggin!!

My wife and I have "shagged" in Myrtle Beach, and more often in North Myrtle Beach (Fat Harolds, Ducks 2, Boulevard Grill, etc.). We've also enjoyed SOS week -- a week long shag party time in North Myrtle Beach occuring twice a year (Spring Safari, and Fall Migration). SOS week ends with a parade down Main street and parts of Ocean Blvd. in North Myrtle Beach. Oh, yeah, SOS stands for Society of Stranders. Quite the party group!

Shagging, or more accurately, the Carolina Shag, has, as George mentioned, been described as a slowed down version of the Jitterbug. It's also one of the Swing dance variants. It is built around a 'basic' step, that you build off with more intricate steps/moves. It is a pretty dance to watch, esp. if the dancers are very smooth in their transitions from one move to the next.

Per

our local shag club - www.nvshag.org

[Suda]

Ah, Pirate, so sad to hear they're tearing it down. Have so many wonderful memories of that place. In high school, and in college, all us girls would rent a cottage down at Ocean Drive, aka OD. Would have to spend at least a few nights at Myrtle hanging out around and in the Pavillion. And all the great bands and nights of shagging away. Step-kick-one-two-three-back-step. Such fun!

Thanks for this thread and all the wonderful memories.