These days, there is no shortage of information for travelers who are considering possible vacation destinations. For decades, the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has charted a successful advertising campaign aimed at bringing visitors from far and wide to experience all that the Lowcountry has to offer.
Television ads that are aired across the country and an abundance of websites attract potential visitors. Free printed visitors’ guides are available at the official Charleston Visitor Center on Meeting Street downtown, but most travelers have already done their homework and planned all aspects of their trip before they’ve even arrived.
A generation or two ago, vacationers would’ve had to rely on advertising done through billboards, mass mailings, magazines and newspapers to pique their interest. The Isle of Palms is one such community that sought visitors using that type of marketing.
Brochures promoting Isle of Palms were available at chambers of commerce throughout the state and filling stations (aka gas stations) supplied them to travelers passing through along Highway 17. Those travelers were usually headed to and from Florida, the traditional vacationland for folks from the Northeast. But the printed pamphlets provided by the Isle of Palms hoped to ignite interest that would rival Florida’s success.
These brochures boasted of the paradise that could be found here, with the wide sandy beach and gentle waves an enticement for families. Amusements and musical entertainment at Front Beach were in store for folks of all ages who preferred to stay dry. Fishermen were sure to be drawn to the abundance of sea life swimming in the surf. And unlike many other beaches, automobiles were not allowed to drive along our shore, a huge relief for sunbathers. Restaurants could be found on Front Beach and overnight lodging was available nearby at several motor courts. Those arrangements of small cinderblock structures provided simple accommodations, but nobody planned to spend much time in them anyway, with all the excitement that awaited outside their walls.
Summertime visitors were not the only audience targeted in the island’s aggressive advertising campaign. In the 1950s and ’60s, the Isle of Palms was one of the most up-and-coming residential communities in the Charleston area. The largest contingent of qualified homebuyers locally were employees of the federal government. The Charleston Naval Shipyard provided most of the jobs – and they were good-paying jobs, too. Although many shipyard employees opted to move to newly developed neighborhoods on James Island, West Ashley or Mount Pleasant, civilian personnel as well as active-duty military were directly targeted for the residential development of the Isle of Palms. Small affordable homes were built specifically with those families in mind. Printed advertisements reminded veterans that they were entitled to low-interest loans requiring no downpayment, and qualified civilians were urged to apply for FHA loans, a fairly new program at the time.
Up until the mid-20th century, Sullivan’s Island and Folly Beach were the only inhabited beach communities in Charleston. Both were popular summertime retreats comprised of two-story wooden houses built on stilts and offering a wide front porch – typical beach houses. But with no indoor heating, they were not meant for year-round living. The Isle of Palms, however, was different. The houses that sprang up here in the 1950s and ‘60s were built to be full-time residences that were modest but permanent.
Although many things on the island have changed, the allure of the Isle of Palms remains the same. And its popularity has only grown over the decades, even without the advertising.
By Mary Coy
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