History & Interpretation

HISTORY AND INTERPRETATION

• Programs and Guided Tours : The park features its Coastal Exploration Program. From March to Nov., "field trips" allow visitors to join staff educators for alligator viewing, marsh and nature trail exploration and more, including a close-up look at the history and mystery of Atalaya.
  
  
• Nature Center : The 2,500-sq. ft. Nature Center features a saltwater touch tank, a live baby alligator and various other exhibits. The center was created to share with visitors the interdependence of human beings and the natural community, focusing on the intersection of land, marsh and sea that makes the Grand Strand such an attractive and critical environment.
  
  The center is open T-Su year round from 10am-5pm and is located at the marsh boardwalk.
  
  For program information contact the center at 843-235-8755.
  
  
• Historic Home : Yes
• Historical Significance : Atalaya, a National Historic Landmark, stands as monument to the creativity and generosity of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington.
  
  A noted scholar of Spanish culture and art, Archer Huntington modeled the couple’s winter home in the style of the Moorish architecture of the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
  
  Atalaya is handicapped accessible for the physically impaired.
  
  
• National Historic Landmark : Yes
• When & How PRT Acquired : Leased in 1960 from Brookgreen Trustees