The destruction and death is what most folks remember about Hurricane Hazel's hit on the coast half a century ago. But beneath that rubble, Hazel left the seeds that helped the Grand Strand's tourism industry blossom.

Motels grew where quaint beach cottages had stood; golf courses sprouted on land cleared by the storm.

That kind of development likely would have occurred eventually, given the popularity of the coast. Hazel just helped it along.

"It opened the doors of opportunity," said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. "It sort of forced the area to grow up faster and quicker. Like it or not, Hurricane Hazel put Myrtle Beach on the map."

The Grand Strand's tourism industry, which today is a $5 billion entity employing seven out of every 10 workers, already had started to emerge pre-Hazel.

Visitors flocked to the coast for summer getaways, some spurred by the Sun Fun Festival each June, which was just three years old when Hazel hit and still runs today.

Folks danced at the oceanfront Myrtle Beach Pavilion.

Rich guests partied at the Ocean Forest Hotel.

Golfers took a swing at the Pine Lakes Golf Course.

But that was just a start. Officials don't know how many tourists visited back in those days, but it is a far cry from the 12.7 million who now visit each year.

Still, experts couldn't point to any part of the Grand Strand today that wouldn't have evolved eventually without Hazel's help.

"Certainly this area was always bound to be a tourism destination," Dean said. "Hurricane Hazel might have spurred a little more rapid development."

Myrtle Beach already was on its way to growing up before Hazel, said Roy Talbert, a history professor at Coastal Carolina University.

He said the year Hazel hit was a landmark year for the area in other ways: CCU opened, the Brown v. Board of Education decision marked integration, and the government reactivated the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

The Sea Mist Resort opened, and the local TV station went on the air.

"1954 was a real good year," Talbert said.

"There were a lot of things going on."

But the destruction Hazel left forced the community to come together and decide what to build to shape its future, said Sheila Backman, a professor in Clemson University's Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department.

For Myrtle Beach, that meant a move into more hotels, as opposed to cottages, and upgrades that become easier to do during reconstruction, she said.

"It's like a changing of the guard almost," Backman said.

"[Myrtle Beach] still would have been the great destination it is. Hurricane Hazel just focused some attention on it."