Myrtle Beach was a summer vacation destination for Winston-Salem residents for many years, especially in the days when the North and South Myrtle beaches were undeveloped.
Myrtle Beach had the vacation cottages and small Mom and Pop travel lodges that lured vacationers from their homes to the town that offered entertainment for the entire family.
A Myrtle Beach family vacation was not complete without an evening at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park: riding the rides, playing skee ball, eating ice cream and cotton candy, having instant photos made in a photo booth, finding beach treasures at the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove, and dancing to beach music on the wooden second floor at the Pavilion.
Teenagers looked forward to going to the beach with friends and spending more time at the Pavilion, plus cruising on Ocean Boulevard and riding the rollercoasters (Comet Jr., Galaxi, Hurricane, Mad Mouse, Corkscrew).
The Myrtle Beach Pavilion closed in 2006 and was demolished in 2007. A Farewell Season in 2006 offered amusement park fans an opportunity to say goodbye to a favorite place that held special memories for several generations of beach-goers.
Postcards courtesy of Molly Grogan Rawls. Black & white (1969) photographs courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
Stay tuned for the next historical post on July 15th: Road Trip: More Myrtle Beach. Winston-Salem Journal photographer, Frank Jones, photographed a group of Winston-Salem teenagers at Myrtle Beach in 1969. Maybe you’ll see someone you know in the group of images!
