The years following the storm set the tone for the next few decades of development for Corpus Christi as a Port town, but the real growth as a population center began during the recovery from the Great Depression. These years, spurred by the discovery of oil, brought culture, entertainment and critical infrastructure to the budding city marked by diversity in its people and economy. Corpus was quickly becoming the center of the Coastal Bend with an identity of its own, eventually becoming the fifth largest port in the United States.