Today the beaches of Isle of Palms are the focus of vacation life for those who are more than happy watching the tide come and go with a good book, cool drink and sunscreen. Not much has changed over the past 126 years when Nicholas Sottile built the first home on the Island in 1897, a summer vacation home.
The secret would soon get out. The next year, Dr. Joseph S. Laurence would start developing the Isle of Palms with an eye on attracting tourists. The first Isle of Palms tourists would arrive to the luxurious new sea resort on July 28, 1898. The Charleston and Seashore Railroad Company would provide Isle of Palms tourist passage to the Island from Cumberland Street in Historic Charleston, where they would take a trolley for the eight-mile journey to the island.
Attracting tourists was vital to the development of the island, which is reason that Dr. Laurence would soon change the name of the island from Long Island to the "Isle of Palms".
In 1902, the luxurious 50-room Hotel Seashore opened to welcome guests to the Isle of Palms where they not only bathed in the fresh waters of the Atlantic but could take part in a day of racing. The beach was often used in these early years as a racetrack for the new horseless carriage (automobile).
Tourism continued to flourish and in 1912, James Sottile created one of the first resort communities in the United States. Often called the "Coney Island of the South", the Isle of Palms now featured the "Pavilion", a mechanically operated steeplechase race, a merry-go-round and a ferris wheel that could be seen from Historic Charleston on a clear day. The famous "Pavilion" offered private dining rooms and a 400-foot dance hall that featured high ceilings and tall windows that opened to sea breezes. The ferris wheel was originally built for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 but would also visit Cotton Congress in Atlanta and Coney Island New York before coming to the island.
World War I and the Great Depression were difficult on the Isle of Palms that was dependent on tourism. The island would soon fall into financial difficulties that continued until 1945.
Following World War II, J.C. Long purchased 1,200 acres for development. Tourism would once again thrive with the construction of the Surf Deck in 1946 which offered dancing, bathhouses, sunbathing and flood lights on the beach for night bathing. Beach music and shag dancing were all the rage at the Surf Deck where The Tamms, The Drifters and James Brown all performed. The famous Isle of Palms fishing pier was another tourist attraction built in 1953. At the time, it was the longest fishing pier in the State.
In 1972, the concept of a resort community centered around tourism returned to the island when Finch Properties purchased a 1,600 acre tract of land to develop the Isle of Palms Beach and Racquet Club, which today is known as Wild Dunes. The Wild Dunes community is centered around tourism featuring a large conference facility, two championship golf courses, tennis center, day spa, over 20 swimming pools, many restaurants, and 2 1/2 miles of semi-private beaches.
Wild Dunes is not the only popular destination for tourists on the Isle of Palms today. Front Beach Isle of Palms features many lodging options, ocean front restaurants, shopping, and the famous Windjammer where live music can be found nightly.
With the construction of the first vacation home in 1897, for 126 years the Isle of Palms has been developed to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Southeast.
