Located 15 miles north of Myrtle Beach and sometimes called "the Black Pearl of the Grand Strand," Atlantic Beach was established in the 1930s as a beach resort for African Americans during the era of Segregation. Developed by a group of black professionals on previously-uninhabited beachfront property, Atlantic Beach flourished in the 1940s and '50s as a coastal resort where black families could vacation without the racial restrictions of the day.

Guest homes, motels, amusement centers, and restaurants were numerous and busy. Many structures were destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in 1954, and the popularity of the resort lessened in the 1960s as Integration enabled black families to enjoy other beaches. It remains one of the few black-owned and governed coastal communities in the United States. Today, attempts continue, to celebrate and preserve the historic legacy of Atlantic Beach as an original African-American resort that was established in a bygone era.

Site Access: Public
Ownership: Public/Private