Baltimore Boulevard was a 15-mile road built by developers in the 1950s and destroyed by a storm in 1962. Its broken asphalt slabs are now used only by gulls, which drop and crack clams on the hard surface. Developers also cleared land for more than 130 side streets along Baltimore Boulevard; many clearings have filled in, but gaps in the forest remain visible in some locations. Extending to the Maryland/Virginia State line, it was the island’s only paved road. After the March 1962 storm, many people questioned the wisdom of 9,000 building lots on Assateague, and that great northeaster became the single most important event leading to creation of the national seashore in 1965.