The City of Myrtle Beach is a residential and vacation community at the heart of South Carolina's Grand Strand coast, a 60-mile string of beaches. The 30,000 permanent residents and millions of visitors enjoy the wide beaches, the warm weather and an incredible range of entertainment, nightlife, golf, shopping, dining and live theatre.

Along its beachfront boardwalk are arcades, souvenir stands and restaurants, as well as the old-fashioned Family Kingdom amusement park and the SkyWheel, one of the country’s tallest Ferris wheels.

For nearly 50 years, Myrtle Beach was a military town, first as home to the U.S. Army Air Corps in the 1940s, and then to the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base beginning in the 1950s. The base closed in 1993, and the property has since been redeveloped as the Market Common District, complete with an urban town center known as The Market Common, a Grand Park that features open space, recreation fields, a large lake and several walking and bicycling trails.

Warbird Park features static displays of three types of U.S. planes that were stationed at the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The park also is home to the Wall of Service, a memorial wall featuring names of the military personnel and civilian staff who lived and worked at the base during its existence.

The name "Myrtle Beach" comes from the wax myrtle, an abundant local shrub, and was chosen in a name-the-town contest in 1900. Previously, the area had been known as Long Bay, Withers and New Town.