Huntington Beach State Park | |
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Nearest city | Murrells Inlet, Georgetown County, South Carolina |
Coordinates | 33°30′50″N79°3′40″W / 33.51389°N 79.06111°W |
Area | 2,500 acres (10.1 km2) |
Camp sites | 107 30 Amp standard campsites 21 30 Amp full service campsites 42 50 Amp full service campsites 6 walk-in tent sites |
Hiking trails | 2 |
Website | Official website |
Huntington Beach State Park is a 2500 acre coastal preserve and state park near Murrells Inlet, in Georgetown County, South Carolina. It has a large sandy beach, few beach-goers, and numerous wild birds to watch over the seasons.
The park, originally property of Anna Hyatt Huntington and Archer M. Huntington, was leased after his death and takes its name from him. The 2500 acre (10 km2) tract was leased to the state in 1960 for use as a state park. Mrs. Huntington died in 1973. Atalaya was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and was included in the designation of Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens as a National Historic Landmark in 1984.
He and his wife's winter home, Atalaya Castle, is located in the park. Built during the Great Depression by only local workers, the residence was designed to withstand hurricanes.
The studio of his wife, the noted 20th-century American sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, was part of the compound. Many of her significant sculptures are in nearby Brookgreen Gardens, an extension of the former Huntington estate, now a public sculpture garden.
The Friends of Huntington Beach State Park offer scheduled tours of Atalaya Castle, and operate the Atalaya Visitor Center with exhibits about the house and the Huntingtons.
Local birders frequently refer to the park as "HBSP" in communications. The park features various species of birds of the Southeast coast of the United States for bird watching.
It hosts many types of ducks and waders like roseate spoonbills in winter in both fresh and saltwater marshes. It has a jetty where oceanbirds like gannets, loons, scoters and occasionally alcids like razorbills and murres can be found. The large tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) flocks here.
The Nature Center features natural history displays and live animals, including a saltwater touch tank and a live baby alligator among its exhibits. Park naturalists offer free programs about the park's wildlife and habitat. The building sits beside the salt marsh, north of the causeway entry road at Huntington Beach State Park and the park's marsh boardwalk.
The original building, was destroyed in a fire in the early morning hours on Wednesday, July 20, 2016, caused by a lightning strike. All of the animals on display within the Education Center were lost in the fire.
The Nature Center was rebuilt beginning 2019 and reopened in September 2020. It is open daily from 10-5pm.
Other park features include: the beach and jetty, hiking, and nature trails and boardwalks, the gift shop and a public campground.
Media related to Atalaya Castle at Wikimedia Commons
Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,547 at the 2010 census. It is about 13 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and 21 miles north of Georgetown, the county seat.
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The 9,100-acre (37 km2) property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails through several ecosystems in nature reserves on the property. It was founded by Archer Milton Huntington, stepson of railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington, and Anna Hyatt Huntington, his wife, to feature sculptures by Anna and her sister Harriet Randolph Hyatt Mayor, along with other American sculptors. Brookgreen Gardens was opened in 1932. It was developed on property of four former rice plantations, taking its name from the former Brookgreen Plantation, which dates to the antebellum period.
A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings.
Hunting Island is a 5,000-acre (20 km2) secluded semitropical barrier island located 15 miles (24 km) east of Beaufort, South Carolina, United States in between Harbor Island and Fripp Island. Since 1935, it has been classified as a state park. It is the most-visited state park facility in South Carolina and is a part of the ACE Basin estuarine reserve area. Known for its natural environment, the island remains one of the few remaining undeveloped Sea Islands in the Lowcountry. The park is known for its 19th century lighthouse which bears its name. The park's beach has been featured in several travel publications and was listed in 2013 as a Top 25 beach in the United States by TripAdvisor.
Cape May Point State Park is a 244 acres (0.99 km2) state park located in Lower Township, New Jersey, with a Cape May Point postal address. The park offers walking, hiking and nature trails as well as beaches, an exhibit gallery, a ranger office and is the site of the Cape May Light. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
Archer Milton Huntington was an American philanthropist and scholar, primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic studies. He founded the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, and made numerous contributions to the American Geographical Society.
Anna Vaughn Huntington was an American sculptor who was among New York City's most prominent sculptors in the early 20th century. At a time when very few women were successful artists, she had a thriving career. Hyatt Huntington exhibited often, traveled widely, received critical acclaim at home and abroad, and won multiple awards and commissions.
Collis P. Huntington State Park is a public recreation area covering 1,017 acres (412 ha) in the towns of Redding, Newtown, and Bethel in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The state park is noted for Anna Hyatt Huntington's sculptures of bears and wolves that welcome visitors at the park entrance. Her work can also be seen in the heroic sculpture of General Israel Putnam at Putnam Memorial State Park in Redding. The park bears the name of railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington, whose heirs donated the lands to the state. The park's web of multi-use trails is open to hikers, cyclists, and equestrians. The park is managed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Albert W. Wein (1915–1991) was an American sculptor.
Atalaya Castle, often known simply as Atalaya, was the winter home of industrialist and philanthropist Archer M. Huntington and his wife, the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, located in Huntington Beach State Park near the Atlantic coast in Murrells Inlet, Georgetown County, South Carolina.
Green Cay Wetlands is a nature preserve located in Boynton Beach, Florida. The 100-acre (0.40 km2) property was purchased in 1999 from Ted and Trudy Winsberg, who used the property for farming. The Winsbergs sold the property for 1/3 of its appraised value with the condition that it would be made into a wetland. Construction began in July 2003. It was created jointly by the Palm Beach County Utilities Department and the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department in 2004. This park includes 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of an elevated wooden boardwalk, which takes visitors through various habitats, including cabbage palm hammock, cypress swamp, wetland hammock, and tropical hardwood hammock. The boardwalk also features a Seminole chickee hut as well as several gazebos, which have descriptive signs offering information on the wildlife and plant life.
Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing two formerly-united properties associated with sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973) on the coast of Georgetown County, South Carolina. The district includes Atalaya Castle, now part of Huntington Beach State Park, and the sculpture garden of Brookgreen Gardens, both properties part of a large estate developed by Anna and Archer M. Huntington in the 1930s. It includes the nation's first formal sculpture garden, and one of the studios at which Huntington did her most productive work. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992.
Frog Baby Fountain is a statue set in the middle of a fountain on the Ball State University campus. It is known as a sign of good luck and is a popular meeting place. The Frog Baby statue was cast by Edith Barretto Stevens Parsons in 1937 and has been moved several times prior to becoming what it is known as today. Frank C. Ball donated the statue to the university and it remained in the Ball State University Museum of Art until it became damaged by excessive rubbing by students, and was then packed away. In 1993, Frog Baby was restored and placed in a fountain where it resides today. The fountain is dedicated to Alexander Bracken, the son-in-law of Frank C. Ball, who was responsible for Ball State's rapid growth after World War II.
Huntington is the surname of three prominent families from the United States of America. The first was active in the eastern region; the second played an important role in the early Latter Day Saint movement, and pioneered and founded the State of Utah with Brigham Young; the third was active on both coasts and the regions linking them. All three lines descend from Simon Huntington and his wife, Margaret Baret Huntington, who immigrated to America from Norwich, England, in 1633.
Lee Harold Letts, American artist, sculptor, painter and goldsmith, is primarily known for his bronze sculptures of birds and animals. His practice is based on the principles of traditional studio craftsmanship, as well as the importance of studying under a master in the manner of the American artists who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The beauty of nature is the primary theme of his artwork. He holds a unique position as a bronze sculptor trained as a goldsmith.
Dawn is a 1931 bronze sculpture by Helen Journeay. It depicts a nude woman in a contrapposto pose with her right elbow raised and right hand behind her head. With her left hand, she caresses the head of a fawn standing behind her.
Tyrrell Park is a municipal park located in Beaumont, Texas. The park has an area of around 500 acres (2.0 km2). It includes the eighteen hole Henry Homberg Golf Course; the Beaumont Botanical Gardens and Warren Loose Conservatory, the second largest public conservatory in Texas; a hiking trail; an equestrian center; and facilities for several sports and outdoor activities. Adjacent to the park is the 900 acres (4 km2) Cattail Marsh, a nature center with hiking trail. The park is located in a migratory bird flyway and Tyrrell Park is listed on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail.
Beatrice Irene Gilman Proske was an art historian, specifically in Spanish and American sculpture. She was an early employee of the Hispanic Society of America in New York City, with a specialty in sculpture. Her expertise expanded to American sculpture with her work at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, and she died an honorary trustee. Her work also included advising the magazine of the National Sculpture Society. She was the author of preeminent studies on Spanish sculpture and American sculpture.