Carolina Ampithetre / Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex / Fox Hole Bar & Grill, 1548 US-501 (Marion): 20 March 2021 4 comments
I always wondered about this place on US-501 in Marion heading towards the beach. From the signs, it sounded like it should be a big deal, but I never saw any activity there, or heard about any shows scheduled.
As it turns out, the complex started as Carolina Ampitheatre, opening some time in the early part of the century, I guess, and closing in 2009. It was revamped and re-opened as Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex in 2015, but never got a lot of traction due to the location being prone to storms and cancellations (as well as being rather out of the way), and closed again in 2020.
At that time, the plan was to redevlop it as housing, but it was early 2020, and the pandemic was coming on, so as far as I can tell, that never got off the ground and I am not sure of the current status of those plans, though *something* happened in 2021.
During the whole life of the Swamp Fox, the area also housed a locally popular bar called the Fox Hole Bar & Grill, which closed in March of 2021.
You can read about the complex in these stories from WMBF, and WBTW. If I ever go by there in the daytime, and it's not locked down, I may try to see what's left.
4 Responses to 'Carolina Ampithetre / Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex / Fox Hole Bar & Grill, 1548 US-501 (Marion): 20 March 2021'
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Matt
17 Mar 23 at 11:35 pm
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Palmetto Outpost was formerly some sort of strip club, and before that, Jimmy Carter's, and before *that* was some sort of travel restaurant like Horne's.
I have wondered about Case as well, and in fact stopped and took pictures once, but then couldn't figure out if it were actually closed and ended up not doing a post.
ted
17 Mar 23 at 11:53 pm
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I always wondered about that place too. Not a destination place for sure.
That case warehouse is probably storage for the huge case junk yard in Marion.Dan R
18 Mar 23 at 4:21 pm
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Went to this place for it's grand opening in July 2001 with James Brown. Massive crowd and the building of the bathrooms wasn't completed yet so it was a sea of portojons. Wasn't impressed with the facility at all and never went back.
Ken
20 Mar 23 at 9:02 am
I have traveled from Columbia to visit customers in the Myrtle Beach area quite a bit in the last 5 years.
I have always wondered about 3 places and this is one of them.
The huge Palmetto Outpost clothing store that never has more than 1 car in the parking lot in PeeDee in between the east and west bound lanes of 301 and near the HotSpot gas station.
The other is the Case Auto Parts near Marion that is in what appears to be an old distribution warehouse. There are trucks in the parking lot and it appears abandoned. What I assume is the same Case Auto Parts near Palmetto Outpost and appears to be a junkyard that is slowly taking over an as yet to be determined amount of empty land and buildings.