I'm headed to the Myrtle Beach Pavilion this weekend -- Saturday is the last day it'll be open before it shuts down for good.
For those of y'all new to these parts, the Pavilion is an amusement park that was the main attraction in the old days of Myrtle Beach. I've talked to Charlotteans who used to get up early on a Saturday, drive down to the beach, spend all day at the Pavilion and get back home as the sun came up on Sunday.
So is anybody heading down there for the going-away party? And does anybody have a story about the Pavilion? Reminisce below.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Looking for Pavilion memories
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My family's favorite stop at the Pavilion was what we called the "music box" -- I had to go to Wikipedia to find out its real name, the Baden Band Organ. A friend who visited there with us wrote a song about it, back in the 1970s. The cherubs, the twirling figurines, the banging cymbals ... the last time I was there, a few years ago, the organ stayed shuttered. I didn't know it would be my last chance to share it with my own children! I'd love to know where it's headed now.
The Magic Attic, 1980's, Sugar Creek. Great memories.
You may want to rethink your visit. The Pavilion's last day was Sunday September 24th. At least that's what the Observer's sister newspaper, The Sun News, front page said yesterday. We were there Saturday night and it was as big a freak show as you would ever want to see. It was a madhouse to say the least.
I had my first kiss there, right outside the Magic Attic, when I was in the eighth grade. Some boy from Ohio (big surprise) who changed my life forever. ;)
For anonymous at 6:03 pm,
They're doing a thing called the Last Ride on Saturday -- selling tickets to get in and limit the size of the crowd, I think. Anyway, that's the official last day.
Wish I had known about this Saturday's event instead of going last weekend. The lines were long and the crowds made walking difficult. Hopefully you won't have the same problems
Last weekend, I watched my 2 year old granddaughter take her first ride on a carousel at the Pavilion. Riding with her was her mother, my daughter, who took her first ride there 20 years ago. 45 years ago, my parents put me up on that same carousel for my first spin. My brain understands that you can't keep a business open if it's not profitable, but my heart just hurts that a place that has been such a huge part of my family's life is now gone. It's so hard to maintain traditions in today's world, and this was a precious one. Year after year, always the same - weeks of discussion about "what will we do at the beach"; the long trip down, then that first whiff of salty air and first glimpse of the water; racing for the sand first thing in the morning to get just the right place for your towel and umbrella, then forgetting them for the rest of the day as you play in the waves; a quick shower and more seafood than you can possibly eat for dinner; and always, always, ending at the Pavillion.
I guess all we can say is "thanks for the memories." - Sarah G, Morganton
I knew the Pavilion days were numbered when my 13 year old Carowinds spoiled son was given $100 to enjoy himself and a buddy at the Myrtle Beach park and he returned 45 minutes later saying it was boring.
I would play the coin machines that had rolls of nickles plus stacks of silver dollars in big bunches. A little crank on the outside of this would allow you to crank a little claw on a chain that was suspended above the rolls of moneys. With patience, I would wait till someone would run out of money and leave coins moved close to the chute and then i would make enough to stay at the beach for a couple days. Harold Harris
when I was 5years old me and my daddy got on the hurricane I was scared but. I came down I was happy I relizad that the Pavilion was the fun place I went to now in the summer when I go back it won't be there.I am really going to miss the pavilion " My sister said the Mouse trap was the best ride ever and she wished they would not tare it down".That night we went and came back home I cried because they are taring down the most fun place ever because alot of memories happend at the pavilion
MY favorite ride was the "mouse trap" it was fun first but when I went back and forth to the beach every summer I kept saying to my family can we go to the mouse trap
I got one feeling hoping they made a nough money so they won't tear it dow I cried my eyes out because my faorite ride won't be there no more so please Pavililon open your doors one more time
The Pavillion will always be ingrained in my memory as the fun, loud, and colorful destination of all ages. Myrtle Beach, the warm summer evenings and the slow moving cruisers in their cars made the Pavillion the ultimate slice of Americana. I suppose Boardwalk at the Beach took too much of the clientele away.
Scott Reynolds
I grew up in Myrtle Beach. I'll never forget going to the Pavilion many times during the spring and summer, either just to cruise the boulevard in that area or to ride some of my favorite rides. The Mind Scrambler was my favorite. I know that Pavilion went downhill over the past few years and I'm sure that Hard Rock Park will be fun. But it just won't be the same.
My wife and I went to the Pavillion when we drove to Myrtle Beach on a whim, as we were very likely to do when we were first married, back in the late 70's. We dropped about 2 hits of some really good acid on the way there and, once at the Pavillion, we got on the big, creaky, wooden roller coaster and rode it about 15 times in a row. What a trip. The funny part is, once we got off for the last time we ran right into her aunt and uncle with their kids in tow. What a trip , indeed.
Ahhhhhh, memories.
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