Coleman Boulevard is more than just a gateway to the beach. It’s Mount Pleasant’s Main Street, USA. It was where all the action began in the early 20th century and it remains the heart and soul of the town today.
Coleman Boulevard was named after Mayor Francis Coleman, who steered the town through the rapid development of the 1950s and its transformation from a farming community to a suburban hotspot. Before that, what we now know as Coleman had been U.S. Highway 17, created when the Old Georgetown Highway was rerouted to connect with the newly-built Cooper River Bridge in 1929.
When an additional bridge was constructed in 1967, Highway 17 “bypass” was created, pulling traffic away from the business district of Coleman Boulevard. Besides alleviating traffic congestion on Coleman, it was a boon for the local economy as shoppers began to patronize the strip malls along the bypass. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo forced the shuttering of some businesses along Coleman, and those that survived struggled to compete with the ever-expanding activity on the bypass.
Over the last decade, however, Coleman Boulevard has re–established its reputation as the iconic main street it once was — and business is booming.
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