Editing Ocean City, Maryland (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Ocean City Hurricane, 1933.ogv|thumb|upright|1933 hurricane in Ocean City]]
[[File:Maryland - Ocean City - NARA - 23941153 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Ocean City, 1935]]

In 1930, Ocean City Beach Patrol was formed in order to better protect the bathers that frequented the shoreline. It was done in collaboration with Mayor William W. McCabe and Coast Guard Captain William Purnell.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us|url=https://oceancitymd.gov/oc/departments/emergency-services/beach-patrol/about-us/|access-date=February 23, 2021|website=Town of Ocean City, Maryland|language=en-US}}</ref>

The Ocean City Inlet was formed during a [[1933 Chesapeake Potomac hurricane|significant hurricane]] in 1933, which also destroyed the train tracks across the Sinepuxent Bay. The inlet separated what is now Ocean City from [[Assateague Island]]. The Army Corps of Engineers took advantage of nature's intervention and made the inlet permanent at the south end of Ocean City. The inlet eventually helped establish Ocean City as an important Mid-Atlantic fishing port, as it offered easy access to the Atlantic Ocean fishing grounds.

In the late 1930s, the Army Corps of Engineers dredged a new channel on the bayside of Ocean City to allow larger boats to have access to Sinepuxent Bay. The dredge was pumped back onto the western shore of Ocean City allowing the creation of Chicago Avenue and St. Louis Avenue, leading to new development where previously only marshland had been.<ref>[http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130822/NEWS/308220064/How-1933-hurricane-carved-lifeline-Ocean-City-Md-] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202192133/http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130822/NEWS/308220064/How-1933-hurricane-carved-lifeline-Ocean-City-Md-|date=February 2, 2015}}</ref>

Ocean City has undergone a fairly rapid expansion that took place during the post-World War II boom. In 1952, with the completion of the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]], Ocean City became easily accessible to people in the [[Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area]]. In 1964, with the completion of the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel]], another pathway to the south was opened. This tunnel connects Northampton County on the Delmarva Peninsula to Southeast Virginia. These two events helped Ocean City become one of the largest vacation areas on the East Coast.

By the 1970s, big business flourished and gave birth to the construction of more than 15,000 condominium units.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mann |first=Bunk |date=April 14, 2022 |title=04/14/2022 {{!}} Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann – April 15, 2022 |url=https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2022/04/14/vanishing-ocean-city-with-bunk-mann-april-15-2022/ |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=News Ocean City Maryland Coast Dispatch Newspaper |language=en-US}}</ref> However, throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the width of the beach began to shrink, prompting the first of a series of [[beach nourishment|beach replenishment]] projects.

A fire during the annual Sunfest destroyed five boardwalk businesses in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-09-23-1994266079-story.html/|title=Fire destroys businesses, apartment in Ocean City|first=Baltimore|last=Sun|website=Baltimore Sun|date=August 20, 2023 }}</ref> There was a small water park and giant walk-through haunted house with live actors near the end of the pier and a New Orleans-style Hollywood in Wax Museum on the boardwalk side. In the mid 1990s, the [[wax museum]] closed<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oceancity.com/ocean-city-oddities-boardwalk-memories-in-wax/|title=Ocean City Oddities: Boardwalk Memories in Wax|first=Brandon|last=Seidl|website=oceancity.com|date=January 5, 2018}}</ref> and was turned into a [[Photon: The Ultimate Game on Planet Earth|Photon laser tag]] arena{{Citation needed|reason=No source for laser tag|date=August 2024}}. The building now houses the [[Ripley's Believe it or Not!]] museum.