Chapin Company Shopping Center
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - circa 1960s
Another great sign! This is a 1960s view of the Chapin Company Shopping Center, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This was a small shopping plaza (not an enclosed mall, I don't believe) that was based around a Chapin store, which you see situated front and center in this photo.
I guess this place is now pretty obscure (aka forgotten?), as I could find nothing about it online to share here--not even on the Chapin Company website, where they list a stable of shopping malls and plazas under their management and development (all in the Myrtle Beach area), but have nothing regarding this specific one (unless the name's been changed and it is there). I really don't even know if it's still standing today.
So while this little center's history shall remain a mystery (yes, that rhymes and I'm cool) for the time being, it really doesn't matter, because I still dig this great shot and wanted to see how it would look up on the wall here anyway.
Developer: Burroughs & Chapin Company
Previous entries: none
posted by Keith @ 9/29/2006
7 Comments:
Awwwwww! It's so cute! :D
Another great sign. I also like the Chapin logo, though I'm not familiar with the store. Was it a grocery chain?
I love this sign!!!!!!! I would mount this sign on my front lawn if I could!
FYI, the Chapin Company "Shopping Center" was actually nothing more than their own department store in downtown Myrtle Beach, although it did extend into several adjacent buildings.
The store is closed, but the buildings, some of which are much older than the photo would suggest, are laregly still there.
Actually, the Chapin Company went out many years ago. The building is still there, but the company went out a long time ago. To my knowledge, it's been there awhile. The parent company, Burroughs and Chapin, owns just about everything in Myrtle Beach.
As a kid, we'd vacation in Myrtle Beach and actually shopped there. My father loved exploring stores and I guess I got it from him! Anyway, it was only a department store but "Chapin" was the name to know. The "parent company" as mentioned develops most of the big retail in the Grand Strand area now, like Broadway at the Beach and Coastal Grand Mall.
Chapin's Department store opened in 1928, and took up the length of an entire city block. It was divided into many different sections, one of which was a grocery store. They were well known in the community for extending credit when times were tight.
I once lived right across their parking lot, just to the left of this picture view. The store closed in the early 90s, and was bought in 1999-- the Highway 17 end was turned into a huge miniature golf course, part inside and part outside. The part of the building along Main Street still looks much the same as it always did.
I have modern pictures of this structure at http://htomc.dns2go.com/myrtle/default.htm#Chapins
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