dining rooms on the second floor and a 400-foot dance hall with high ceilings, a smooth dance floor and windows open to the sea breezes on three sides. Te island also offered amusement rides, including a mechanically operated steeplechase race and a merry-go-round. Te ferris wheel on the Isle of Palms was visible on a clear day from the south end of Charleston’s High Battery. Te amusement ride was originally built for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and was used by the Cotton Congress in Atlanta and Coney Island in New York before making the Isle of Palms its home. Te Isle of Palms post office opened Aug. 5, 1913, in Hudson’s Pavilion, and a few letters were brought in for distribution. Te second post office, located on the oceanfront, was run for 23 years by postmistress Ruth Clump. After World War I, the Isle of
Palms fell into financial difficulties after a decade of prosperous enter- prise, forcing the county sheriff to seize the ferry boats in compliance with a court order on Feb. 20, 1924. In 1926, the Breach Inlet Bridge, a trolley trestle, was rebuilt to carry
automobiles, making the island more accessible. In 1929, the Grace Memorial Bridge over the Cooper River was opened and the ferry boat Lawrence was put out of service. Te Great Depression halted many of the island’s seaside projects and, when the Isle of Palms, Inc. suffered financial difficulties, the Hardaway Contracting Company took it over and continued to develop the island from 1934 until 1944. In 1938 the Inlet Inn Restaurant
at Breach Inlet opened, operated at first by Nell and Griffin Bunch and later by Jack and Carmen Bunch. Until 1950, it was one of only two restaurants on the island. On Dec. 12, 1944, J.C. Long,
a prominent Charleston attorney, bought 1,200 acres of the island from the Hardaway Contracting Company and began making extensive improvements to the island. Roads were constructed and improved, and a massive building project was launched. Within five years, the small summer resort island of 100 homes developed into a com- munity of 375 homes, about 250 of them owned by year-round residents.
In 1945, the Ben Sawyer Bridge, connecting Mount Pleasant with Sullivan’s Island, was opened to automobiles, making transportation to the Isle of Palms much more expeditious. Following World War II, the
Beach Company, presided over by president and principal owner J.C. Long, began developing the island in earnest. Before construction of new homes could begin, sand dunes 30 feet high had to be leveled. With wartime restrictions on using heavy equipment still in force in 1945, the work proceeded using scoops pulled by mules. Bulldozers were brought in after the restrictions were lifted. Te Beach Company not only built all of the homes on the island during those early years but also provided services such as water, trash collection and streetlights. Te Surf Deck was added to
front beach in 1946. Te popular teen hang-out, operated by W. Lee Hartmann, offered dancing, bathhouses, beer and refreshments, sunbathing atop the building and floodlights on the beach for night bathing. In August of 1951, the Isle of
www.ILoveIOP.com |
www.ILoveCharleston.com |
www.WildDunesHomesAndCondos.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66