Atalaya Castle (Murrells Inlet, SC)

Hallway through the center courtyards, the water tower is in the middle

During our stay at Huntington Beach South Carolina State Park our family visited the Atalaya Castle. There is a small fee to tour the house, if you want you can purchase an audio tour for an additional fee. We choose to do the tour on our own.

Atalaya has a neat history! It was built by Acher and Anna Huntington during the Great Depression. Archer was their philanthropist from New York City and Anna was an artist. They built the house in South Carolina as a place to stay during the winter after Anna was diagnosed with tuberculosis. They designed the house after Spanish and Moorish architecture. The house has 30 room with a center courtyard full of native plants and a water tower. The Huntington’s insisted that the house be built by people from local community to help boost the economy in that area during the Great Depression. The house was once on 9,000 acres of land.

If you are in the area and have some extra time we recommend stopping by for a visit.

One side of the inner courtyard

Touring the castle

Anna was a sculpture and she designed these wrought iron pieces to cover the windows. They are both decorative and serve as protection from hurricanes.