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Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

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Myrtle Beach is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. Myrtle Beach is located in a region known as the Grand Strand, that stretches from Georgetown, South Carolina to Little River, South Carolina. The population was 22,759 at the 2000 census. The metropolitan population is counted at 196,629 in 2000. Combining all three counties (Horry, Georgetown, and Brunswick, NC), the metro population is 346,548.

Myrtle Beach is the largest community in The Grand Strand, a major tourist destination along the South Atlantic seaboard of the United States, widely known for its wide beaches, large selection of challenging golf links, excellent seafood restaurants, and outlet-style shopping activities. For this reason, the Myrtle Beach area attracts over 14 million visitors a year.

Contents

Geography

Myrtle Beach is located at [33°42′15″N, 78°52′32″W] (33.704238, -78.875453)[Geographic references#1GR1]. It is situated mainly between the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway on the west and the Atlantic Ocean (Long Bay) on the East, although building west of the waterway is rapidly increasing. Much of the area between the coast and the waterway is a slightly elevated sandbar or dune area. West of the waterway the land is mostly pine forest with a normal high water table, in which developers dredge ponds and use the spoil to create elevated areas for better drainage around buildings.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 43.5 km² (16.8 mi²). 43.5 km² (16.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.12%) is water.

History

Myrtle Beach was uninhabited until 1900, when a railroad was built between Conway and Myrtle Beach. The railroad ended in 1899 in the locale of Pine Island and was extended four miles into the future city. The Pavilion, as well as the Seaside Inn, were built in today's downtown.

By the 1930s, the city grew to include areas as far north as present-day Ocean Forest. The Ocean Forest Hotel was built about this time (which was to be demolished in 1974). The Intracoastal Waterway began construction several years later. Almost a year later, the city was incorporated as a town in 1938 and became a city in 1957. Its name was derived from the Wax myrtle shrub that grows throughout the area.

In the 1960s, northern development in what was unincorporated Horry County began to develop, with the newly formed communities of North Myrtle Beach and Briarcliffe Acres.

Myrtle Beach continued to grow, and by the 1970s, had become well associated with tourism. Parts of what is now US 17 Bypass were built later in the decade. The building boom along the Grand Strand began in the late 1970s, with many suburbs of Myrtle Beach such as Surfside Beach and North Myrtle Beach.

By the late 1980s and into the early and mid 1990s, Myrtle Beach grew into the county's 18th largest population gain. The community of Carolina Forest eventually would house 56,000 residents. This community would either be annexed into Myrtle Beach at a later date or would become its own community. Carolina Forest has become home to many non-native residents, many of whom come from the Northeast. Because of relatively low cost of living and many amenities, it has attracted many retirees, some of whom became acquainted with the area while vacationing.

Infrastructure

Education

Colleges & Universities

Private Schools

Both of these schools do not have high schools.

Public Schools

The Horry County Schools school district is the only public school district in Horry County. Their schools are one of the top districts in the state, with Myrtle Beach High School serving as the best ranking high school in the area. Socastee High School is about five miles west of Myrtle Beach, along with Carolina Forest High School being west of the Intracoastal Waterway. The city is also the home of the Academy for Arts, Science & Technology, which will have a new building in the Carolina Forest area by 2007.

Transportation

The Myrtle Beach area is served by the Myrtle Beach International Airport, located on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base base on the south side of town. The airport opened in 1976 and has served the Myrtle Beach area continuously, even after the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base closed. Hooters Air began operating out of Myrtle Beach in early 2003, only to be closed in early 2006 due to rising airline prices and the airline industry as a whole.

Within the past ten years (and massive growth to the county's population), new roads have been put into place. Most of these roads follow the Metro Loop Road Plan, organized in 1997 to better the traffic flow of Myrtle Beach. Some of the roads included have either been funded through RIDE I funding or through the City of Myrtle Beach.

RIDE II plans include the third phase of the Carolina Bays Parkway, a graded separation of Farrow Parkway and US 17 Bypass at the Back Gate of the Former Air Force Base, and many other projects. The county is currently debating where to allocate the $400 million generated through a proposed 1-cent sales tax. Other road projects in Horry County, including some in Aynor and Conway, will be included when voted upon.

New roads in Horry County include (since 1999):

Future roads will include:

People & Culture

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 22,759 people, 10,413 households, and 5,414 families residing in the city. It has a metropolitan population of about 217,608 which is steadily rising. The population density was 523.7/km² (1,356.3/mi²). There were 14,658 housing units at an average density of 337.3/km² (873.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.16% White, 12.76% African American, 0.42% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 2.37% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.67% of the population.

There were 10,413 households out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.0% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,498, and the median income for a family was $43,900. Males had a median income of $26,039 versus $22,473 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,214. About 7.6% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Margaritaville at Broadway at the Beach
Enlarge
Margaritaville at Broadway at the Beach

Shopping

Attractions

Broadway at the Beach which is located on the north side of the city is known widely for its restaurants and all kinds of entertainment venues such as Ripley's Aquarium and NASCAR Speedpark. At the heart of downtown located right off of U.S. Route 501 there is the Myrtle Beach Pavilion which is a major amusement park in the area that draws a great number of visitors and locals.

Restaurants

Music and Dancing

Myrtle Beach has one of the most diverse selections of musical venues on the Grand Strand. Concerts are available nightly at the House of Blues. Small venues (ex. The Social & The Phat Joint located on 9th ave.) for local bands are also common as they are most everywhere on Ocean Boulevard.

The Carolina Shag is a form of dance that originated on The Grand Strand in the 1940s. The 1989 film Shag starring Bridget Fonda was filmed in Myrtle Beach and featured this dance form. Annual Shag competitions are held in North Myrtle Beach.

Sports & Leisure

Baseball

The Carolina League's Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a class A farm franchise for the Atlanta Braves major league baseball club, plays its home games at Coastal Federal Field.

Tennis

Myrtle Beach is home to many of the top junior players in the state. With the potential found locally, Myrtle Beach has become a well know name in Junior Tennis.

Myrtle Beach is home to the Myrtle Beach Seahawks, with a highly regarded tennis team.

Golf

Myrtle Beach has over 120 golf courses on the "Grand Strand" and hosts over 4,000,000 rounds/year. One popular discussion board for Myrtle Beach golf is [Myrtle Beach Golf Talk]. Myrtle Beach claims to have more miniature golf courses than anywhere else in the world.

Hockey

The Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz, a new hockey team formed from the former Pee Dee Pride, will resume their play in 2007.

Media

Myrtle Beach is served by one daily newspaper, The Sun News. The television affiliates serving the area are listed below: Time Warner Cable provides most of the cable television service in Myrtle Beach.

External links

Notes

  1. ↑  [City of Myrtle Beach] History

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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