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For almost eight decades, the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove has been a staple on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach.

To put that into perspective, the city of Myrtle Beach was founded in 1938 and the world-famous gift shop came into being just eight years later.

Today, it鈥檚 run by owners Buzz and Michelle Plyer after being started by Buzz鈥檚 dad Justin.

Generations of families still make the trek to the multi-story business with the iconic tower in the front.

Only a few businesses still exist in the Ocean Boulevard area from those early years.

鈥淧eople come here because they want that 鈥榦ld Myrtle Beach鈥� feeling they grew up with鈥� Michelle said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty much just us, the Fun Plaza and the Bowery from those days when Myrtle Beach attracted families from all over the Southeast. And since kids can鈥檛 really go into the Bowery, families come here for the memories and to make new memories with their kids and grandkids.鈥�

The Gay Dolphin is famous for its multi-levels of gifts and souvenirs of any and everything a visitor would want to take back home with them.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always nice to hear positive remarks from new customers and those that have been coming here all of their life,鈥� Michelle added.

She added that the Gay Dolphin鈥檚 reputation continues to grow with three travel shows slated to come in this year to film segments about Myrtle Beach.

To say that the Gay Dolphin has been a family affair for Buzz is an understatement.

He began working for his dad there when he was just five, carrying conch shells into the store to be sold. By the age of 12, he had become so proficient in selecting shells that people would want that he became the store鈥檚 shell importer, which meant going to Haiti to pick out conch shells that were 鈥減inker鈥� and more appealing to the customers.

The store鈥檚 actual origin came from two lots that his mother had purchased near the current gift store.

鈥淭he first year, we had a watermelon stand there,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淭he second year, my dad got some carnies to come in and set up rides in the summer since they usually worked fairs in the fall. Eventually, he bought the rides.鈥�

Buzz said dad Justin had a vision for Myrtle Beach to be a town where they could create a fun and affordable place where visitors would want to return year after year.

鈥淢yrtle Beach was a destination for working class people,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淲e had to be substantially cheaper than other resort areas which goes against what usually happens in resort towns.鈥�

Justin Plyler knew he had to do something to get people to walk down the block from the Pavilion. The first thing was to come up with a name that people would remember.

鈥淲e had the little amusement park next door and dad knew that the most successful amusement areas at the time had names,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淎t the time, this stretch of beach attracted lots of dolphins every day and people loved to sit on the beach and watch them play. And there you have the Gay Dolphin.鈥�

He said his dad knew that to get people down the boulevard there had to be shows and attractions they didn鈥檛 find anywhere else at the beach.

Some of the shows included animals such as a gorilla, a 17-foot boa constrictor, alligators, monkeys and macaws.

Of course, there are some stories to go along with these attractions.

鈥淲hen I was about eight, I was using a stick to point at the gorilla for the visitors,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淭he gorilla didn鈥檛 like that and jerked me into the cage.鈥�

A nearby lady had been bringing food to the gorilla and she got the ape to let a scared, little Buzz free.

The huge boa constrictor escaped one day and they found it curled up on a bunk bed in a nearby beach cottage.

鈥淭hose people checked out immediately,鈥� Buzz laughed.

At one time, they also had a gold wire bender who would make necklaces out of shark鈥檚 teeth the store sold, a glass blower, an Indian chief selling Native American goods from North Carolina and a candy shop that sold saltwater taffy.

Michelle relayed a story about a man named Digger Odell who would bury himself in the sand as visitors looked on in amazement.

鈥淚t turns out he had an escape hatch up the beach and he would go to the Bowery to drink,鈥� she said.

There were other attractions associated with the Gay Dolphin. Justin started a shooting gallery to attract soldiers who had come back from the war and wanted to impress the girls with their marksmanship.

Many from the 60鈥檚 will remember the Wild Mouse roller coaster next door that provided thrills for all ages who dared to ride it.

On the street level, Jones Bingo was a popular destination for many tourists.

鈥淚 learned a lot from the couple who ran it, especially how to present merchandise to make it more appealing,鈥� Buzz said.

When you step into the Gay Dolphin, it may look a bit chaotic, but everything is placed in exact locations to get as much visitor exposure as possible.

One thing Buzz learned early on was that kids help create family memories. To that end, he makes sure toys are placed close to the floor so the youngsters can touch and play with them.

Probably some of the most long-lasting items that are still popular today are the small license tags with names on them. There is an entire wall filled with them.

鈥淧eople, especially kids, love to find their names,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淲e add about 20 names each year. It鈥檚 still an astounding sales category.鈥�

At one time, the Gay Dolphin鈥檚 iconic tower on Ocean Boulevard was one of the tallest structures in town. For years, for a small fee you could climb to the top of it and get a seagull鈥檚 view of the downtown area. You can鈥檛 make that climb anymore but it still stands as a drawing card for the Gay Dolphin.

鈥淒ad built that so people at the Pavilion would see us and come on down this way,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淗e also built a basement which is unheard of along the beach. Even today, architects still come here to find out how he did it.鈥�

Though the Gay Dolphin still thrives today, it wasn鈥檛 all roses along the way.

In 1954, Hurricane Hazel wiped out much of the area including the Gay Dolphin.

鈥淚t was tough,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淲e had to start all over. And back then, you had to make sure you made enough in the summer to get you through the winter months when we didn鈥檛 have any tourists.鈥�

The gift shop grew from a few small buildings to the massive business it is today based on the same principles that Justin started nearly eight decades ago.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here to provide memories for our visitors,鈥� Buzz said. 鈥淓very day, we get people in who remember something special about a visit they had years ago. Sometimes, we get five generations of a family that come in with their stories. That鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about.鈥�