黑料社入口

The buzz around town was all about Broadway at the Beach 30 years ago.

The new attraction featured 30 shops and one restaurant open for business, according to a newspaper clipping from the summer of 1995.

The Burroughs and Chapin Company held the grand-opening ribbon-cutting ceremony July 4, 1995, and welcomed the city of Myrtle Beach to a "festive, jumpin鈥� entertainment district with a little bit of everything."

Egerton Burroughs, chairman of the board at the time, said the plan from day one was to create a safe, family friendly destination for locals and visitors to enjoy.

鈥淪o, Doug Wendel and his management team looked at all different types of things and brought back to the board the plans for Broadway at the Beach,鈥� Burroughs said. 鈥淲hen they brought the plans into the room, the board nearly fell over. I mean, it was a mammoth project.鈥�

A multi-county business park is a common vehicle in today鈥檚 world, but Broadway at the Beach was one of the first of its kind in the Lowcountry back in 鈥�95, he said. The entertainment complex is made up of several districts with distinct design features that bring visitors on a colorful adventure of attractions, activities, restaurants and amusement park rides wrapped around the 23-acre Lake Broadway.

Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said she remembers when the property looked like a forest.

鈥淚t was all trees. And a lot of the local kids used to go in there and play and ride their bikes. So, when Burroughs and Chapin decided to develop that property, it was really a big thing for our city and for a lot of businesses because it really brought something here that we never had before,鈥� she said.

Burroughs said the main investment bank for the project called nearly every week with worry during construction, but once the project began to take shape the economic potential clearly beckoned no calls of concern.

Though no longer a forest, the area is still home to children at play and Bethune said she takes her grandsons to Broadway often to explore offerings like the escape room, zip-lining, speed boats, miniature golf and other attractions that come and go.

鈥淲hat makes Broadway special is that they keep reinventing themselves," Bethune said. "They didn鈥檛 just build something and let it stay status quo for years and years. They have continuously added new areas and new attractions and right now they鈥檙e going through major renovations to change the aesthetics of everything."

In 2025, the eye-catching King Kong towering over the Hollywood Wax Museum and the upside-down house of Wonderworks are iconic staples to the Myrtle Beach landscape.

However, the Hard Rock Cafe pyramid and Palace Theatre turned heads for 20 years after their debut in '95.

鈥淭hat was the first iconic architecture in Myrtle Beach at that time; it was something you just didn鈥檛 see. You saw things like that in Las Vegas, not in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,鈥� Bethune said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e just brought such a unique blend of architectural aspects that just make it a fun place and a unique place to be.鈥�

She added the closure of the Palace Theatre after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 was a tragic loss to the city.

Greg London, artistic director at Long Bay Theater, was the artistic director for the Palace from 2008-10 and said when it was first built it was called the 鈥淛ewel Theater of the South.鈥�

鈥淚t was such a grand, beautiful building with that copper dome," London said. "It had a beautiful marble interior, giant paintings by South Carolina artists of beautiful South Carolina scenery, and a grand staircase that wrapped around into the balcony."

When the Palace Theatre was first built, it was a touring house that brought star-studded live shows to Myrtle Beach. Big names like Aretha Franklin, Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles and James Brown took to the stage throughout 1996. Comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Larry the Cable Guy performed in the 2000s.

London said the Radio City Rockettes used to use Myrtle Beach as a rehearsal spot to launch their touring companies. All three Rockettes companies would rent out space at the old 黑料社入口 Pottery and they would launch their tours at the Palace Theatre and perform the Rockettes Christmas Show.

He said the theater gave local residents the opportunity to see theatrical legends in Broadway shows like Donny Osmond in 鈥淛oseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat鈥� and Stefanie Powers in 鈥淭he King and I.鈥�

Hosting a Broadway show requires a certain amount of seating, an orchestra pit and a financial guarantee. London said without the Palace Theatre, there is not a venue in Myrtle Beach large enough to accommodate Broadway shows on tour.

鈥淭he most heartbreaking image for me when it was all being torn down, in the last stages of [demolition] there was a framework of the proscenium, and a piece of the main drape curtain, this beautiful red curtain, over all this rubble. That stuff was still standing and it stood like that for quite a while. It was just heartbreaking to look at,鈥� London said.

While demolition took several months, the building became overwhelmed with mold and was deemed unsalvageable.

Burroughs has the same melancholy sentiment for the Myrtle Beach Pavilion in the downtown area that closed in 2006. He said after the U.S. Air Force base closed, the presence of the military dissipated and downtown became run-down.

鈥淥ur revenue depended on families going to the amusement park, we never sold liquor. So, we saw the revenues falling down, we looked to do something else,鈥� he said. 鈥淏roadway turned out very successful and it helped offset our losses down at the Pavilion. We finally had to close down the Pavilion because families didn鈥檛 go downtown anymore. That broke my heart when we closed the Pavilion. I cried like a baby.鈥�

Fortunately, a slice of Pavilion magic can be found within Broadway at the Beach, and Burroughs encourages everyone to take a ride on the merry-go-round.聽He said the menagerie, as it is called in the 鈥榖iz, and other amusement rides are from the original downtown Pavilion.

The menagerie has lions, frogs, zebras, giraffes and only one "lead horse" decorated in great detail and found on the outside row.聽

鈥淚t is very old and I promise you it is treasured, well-maintained and loved by many,鈥� Burroughs said.

30th anniversary festivities

To commemorate three decades of smiles, laughter and magical family fun, Broadway at the Beach is throwing a week-long celebration of 10 p.m. fireworks leading up to the grand finale of the Fourth of July on Friday.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place Monday, June 30, at 10 a.m. near the fountain and Center Court and complimentary cookies will be available at noon. 鈥淕ive Back Tuesday鈥� will feature a veteran appreciation card-signing station at Guest Services.

鈥淲in it Wednesday鈥� will offer the chance to Spin the Wheel for giveaways and prizes. Guests can check social media for the whereabouts of the Wheel throughout the day.

鈥淭hrowback Thursday鈥� features '90s music on the radio station all day long and Broadway encourages individuals to share their favorite '90s Broadway memory on social media.

Friday features freedom with 鈥淪tars & Stripes Forever鈥� and guests are encouraged to wear red, white and blue.