1940 W orld War II brought more changes to
Floral Beach. The northern section, what is now north of Surfside Drive, was used by the military as a gunnery range for aircraft, and access to the area was prohibited by the U.S. Army.
No official record of this use exists,
only the stories of those who visited Floral Beach at that time. In the years since, numer- ous .50 caliber artillery shell casings, dat- ed 1943 and 1944, have been found in the northern section during its development.
In 1952, a group of local developers pur- chased Floral Beach and renamed it Surfside Beach at the suggestion of Margaret Bryan, wife of developer Buster Bryan.
From the
beginning, Surfside Beach was developed as a family-friendly community, with parks, lakes and single-family homes. Many of these
charming, flat-roofed, original structures re- main in the area, surviving hurricanes and waves of development.
Iconic Surfside Pier was first completed in 1953. The 750-foot landmark pier has been destroyed twice by hurricanes and sustained damage from several, less-severe storms.
The geographic and social
center of the town for more than six decades, early residents and visitors remember the amusement park with its ferris wheel, merry-go-round and arcade and the Pier Restaurant. During these years, the summer season was roughly six-weeks long- the month of July and the first two weeks of August.
1950
15
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