Broadway at the Beach
 | |
| Location | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA |
|---|---|
| Opening date | July 4, 1995 |
| Developer | Burroughs & Chapin |
| Owner | Burroughs & Chapin Company |
| No. of stores and services | 150+ |
| Parking | 5,000+ |
| Website | http://www.broadwayatthebeach.com/ |
Broadway at the Beach is a shopping center and entertainment complex located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Broadway at the Beach is owned and operated by Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. The $250 million attraction is set on 350 acres (1.4 km2) in the heart of Myrtle Beach and features three theaters, over 20 restaurants and over 100 specialty shops as well as attractions, nightclubs, and hotels, all surrounding the 23-acre (93,000 m2) Lake Broadway. Broadway at the Beach receives upwards of 14 million visitors annually.
Attractions
The complex is divided into several distinct zones named New England Fishing Village, Caribbean Village, Charleston Boardwalk, Heroes Harbor and Celebrity Square, a New Orleans-themed nightclub district that stays open later than the rest of the districts. The complex is home to many attractions, such as the Carmike Cinemas Broadway 17, Ripley's Aquarium, Palace Theatre, Legends In Concert, WonderWorks, Hollywood Wax Museum and the Pavilion Nostalgia Park, which features rides from the former Myrtle Beach Pavilion. The complex contains three hotels, a Hampton Inn located inside the complex, and a Fairfield Inn and Holiday Inn Express located across 29th Avenue North in a section named Lakeshore at Broadway.
Among the complex's notable restaurants are Hard Rock Café, Johnny Rockets, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, Señor Frogs, and KISS Coffeehouse.(KISS Coffeehouse closed Dec. 2013.) Notable retail destinations include Ron Jon Surf Shop, Retro Active, Fresh Produce, IT'Sugar, Yankee Candle, and Build-A-Bear Workshop.
History
Burroughs & Chapin announced the project in 1993. The July 4, 1995 grandopening included Representative Strom Thurmond and Governor Mark Sanford.[1] The first attractions included Hard Rock Cafe and Palace Theatre. A horseshoe shaped area ran from Celebrity Square to the “Generations at Play” fountain. Additional stores came later, along with Grissom Parkway. Nearby U.S. 17 Bypass attracted more development. In November 1996, a Planet Hollywood opened in the "Lakeshore at Broadway" district. Among the celebrities who attended a 1997 grand opening were Bruce Willis, Jennifer Love-Hewitt and Will Smith.[2]
In October 2010, Legends in Concert held its last show in nearby Surfside Beach before moving to the Broadway at the Beach location in March of 2011.[3] WonderWorks, described as "a science attraction housed in an upside-down building",[4] opened April 4, 2011.[5] On April 1, 2012, Backstage Mirror Maze and The Vault Laser Maze opened. The maze attraction recalls an actual bank robbery in Times Square from the 1930s.[6]
2015 Closures
Following Labor Day weekend in 2015, both Planet Hollywood and MagiQuest closed, and the globe-shaped Planet Hollywood building was demolished the following month.[7] Around the same time, several clubs in the Celebrity Square district, including Revolutions and Carlos'n Charlie's announced that they would close in November. Some people living in the area expressed concern that Burroughs & Chapin wanted to drop adult attractions for a more family-oriented development.[8][9]
2016 Renovations
On February 3, 2015, changes were announced that included the city's first Dave & Buster's as well as American Tap House and OZ nightclub. A new 15,043-square-foot Hard Rock Cafe in the former Broadway Louie’s location was to replace the 70-foot-tall pyramid. The Carlos'n Charlie's restaurant would give way to a two-story restaurant called Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen. Malibu’s Surf Bar, Crocodile Rocks, Original Shucker’s Raw Bar and the Carolina Comedy Club would stay where they were.[10][11]
References
- ↑ Claire Byun (July 25, 2015). "Broadway at the Beach still booming after 20 years". The Sun News. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Claire Byun (September 8, 2015). "Two Grand Strand restaurants, one attraction close for good". The State. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Spring, Jake (2010-10-01). "Legends in Concert moving to Myrtle Beach from Surfside Beach". The Sun News. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ↑ Bryant, Dawn; Saldinger, Adva; Spring, Jake (2011-01-02). "Top business stories to watch in 2011 in Myrtle Beach area". The Sun News. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
- ↑ Spring, Jake (2011-04-05). "Myrtle Beach's WonderWorks draws crowd at opening day". The Sun News. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
- ↑ Bryant, Dawn (2012-03-22). "Maze attraction coming to Myrtle Beach". The Sun News. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
- ↑ Jo brown (September 8, 2015). "Planet hollywood in Myrtle Beach closes". WBTW. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Few willing to talk about rumored changes to Broadway at the Beach". WBTW. October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Emily Smith (October 9, 2015). "'Chemist' set to experiment with unique dining experiment". The Sun News. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ↑ Weaver, Emily. "New restaurants, nightclubs to transform Broadway at the Beach". The Sun News. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ↑ Brown, Jo. "Dave & Buster's comes to Broadway at the Beach". WBTW. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
External links
Coordinates: 33°42′56″N 78°52′55″W / 33.715627°N 78.881949°W