Riverside Beach, developed by the Cooper River Bridge Company, opened in 1930 as the first black beach in the area and was sold to the County in 1941. The site featured a dance pavilion, boardwalk, bath house, playground, and ball fields, and Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ivory Joe Hunter, and B.B. King performed there. The County sold the beach to developers in 1975. White’s Paradise, located on Riverside Beach Road, now 5th Avenue, was the first black motel and nightclub east of the Cooper. The air conditioned motel and club, built by owner Henry White, operated from 1943 to 1975, and soul singer James Brown performed there before his hit “Papa Got A Brand New Bag.” The buildings were demolished in 1993.
