South Carolina > Horry County > Landmark #196316

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Station (Myrtle Beach)

851 Broadway St, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Railroad station opened before there was officially a town nearby.

Photos 

Myrtle Beach Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Station

June 20, 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Myrtle_Beach_Atlantic_Coast_Line_Railroad_Station_Jun_10.JPG

Photo taken by Pubdog (no real name given)

License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

View this photo at en.wikipedia.org

Map 

Street View 

Description 

May 6, 1937 -- The new Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot opens with a ribbon cutting ceremony in Myrtle Beach, SC. Even though Myrtle Beach does not officially becomes a town until the next year, this is the third depot for the area.

The ACL and The Chapin Company have built the Depot to provide a needed transportation link between the mainland and the beach. Although based on ACL’s standard station design, structural enhancements gave the depot some Mediterranean features that reflected the local architecture of the day.

Though details are still hard to find, it is likely that most of the trains are mixed passenger and freight trains. Myrtle Beach was not yet the tourist destination it would become in the late 20th century.

1967 -- With the state of passenger trains in decline, ACL sells the depot to a beer distributor. The new company builds an office and warehouse in front of the depot blocking it from view of the main road ways. The distributor also removes an exterior freight dock from the Depot and replacs it with an enclosed two-bay maintenance garage for trucks. The remainder of the building is then used for storage and warehousing.

1999 -- The depot is now up for sale as the owner know longer needs the property. After several months with no viable offers, the owner is advised that the property might sell more quickly as vacant land. Word spreads quickly that a demolition permit had been requested for the Depot and a public outcry rises to save one of Myrtle Beach’s few remaining historic buildings.

Initially, the city works with the owner to move the historic station to a new site, but the city eventually buys the building and land outright for $750,000. The city forms the Myrtle Beach All Aboard Committee and charges it with restoring the building and listing it on the National Register of Historic Places. The all volunteer group also begins raising money, more than $650,000 in grants and private donations, to restore the structure and improve the site with parking facilities, lighting and landscaping.

2001 -- In July of this year, the Myrtle Beach All Aboard Committee works with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History to develop demolition plans for the garage. Since it was added on at such a late date, the building cannot be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Research via the Caroliniana Library at USC provides photographic evidence of the Depot’s original appearance and the garage is removed.

Fundraising is still going strong with a day of train rides out of the depot on the Carolina Southern, the current operator of the adjacent tracks. The community comes out to mark the first time a train has come on the Myrtle Beach side of Intracoastal Waterway since 1987.

2002 -- The Myrtle Beach Depot is placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 20.

May 6, 2004 -- The All Aboard Committee cuts the ribbon on the newly restored Myrtle Beach Train Depot, 67 years to the day after the original opening ceremonies.

Today -- The Depot serves as a public facility for meetings, committees, receptions, activities and parties. The city operates the building and makes it available to groups for a nominal fee.

National Register information 

Status
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on July 22, 2002
Reference number
96001212
NR name
Myrtle Beach Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Station
Architectural style
American Movement
Area of significance
Architecture
Level of significance
Local
Evaluation criteria
C - Design/Construction
Property type
Building
Historic function
Rail-related
Current function
Warehouse
Period of significance
1925-1949
Significant year
ca. 1935

Tags 

20th Century (29,077)
American Movement (6,254)
Atlantic Coast Line (3)
Brick (42,466)
Built during 1930s (5,584)
Have Street View (50,477)
Horry County, South Carolina (68)
 Myrtle Beach MPS (6)
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (6)
Private owner (54,402)
Railroad (2,008)
Railroad depot (1,587)
South Carolina (2,206)

Update Log 

  • November 27, 2017: New photo from Michael Miller
  • September 16, 2014: New Street View added by Michael Miller
  • August 14, 2013: Updated by Joseph Hinson: Found a photo via Wikipedia and also wrote a history of the depot.

Sources 

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