Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C. assembled with the others on September 8, 1921. The others came from Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Ocean City, Newark, New York, and Philadelphia. The 7 beauties were led by King Neptune to B.F. Keith's Theatre on Garden Pier. There, the contestants passed before the judges who included illustrator Howard Chandler Christie and actor John Drew. Margaret Gorman stole their hearts and there she was: Atlantic City's most beautiful Intercity bathing queen, winner of the Golden Mermaid trophy, and our first Miss America. So was born the Miss America Pageant which included a Bathers Review, Rolling Chair Parade, Night Spectacle with the Frolic of Neptune, and the Inter-City Beauty Contest. This post Labor Day festival was promoted by the city's chamber of commerce to extend the summer season by a week. Sponsored by major metropolitan newspapers, the festival garnered a lot of publicity for the resort and was successful until 1927, when it lost financial backing. With the exception of 1933, the contest was not revived again until 1935, when it was conducted as part of the Showman's Variety Jubilee.

The Pageant did regain sure financial footing in 1940 when the official title was changed to the Miss America Pageant and its venue became Convention Hall. During the 1940's the national executive director Lenora Slaughter shaped the pageant into the American icon we know it to be today. Full state representation was achieved and the scholarship program and a judging category based on personal interviews were added. The first nationally televised broadcast of the Miss America Pageant took place on September 11, 1954 to a viewing audience of 27 million. The following year the pageant introduced Bert Parks and the theme song "There She Is - Miss America." The rest is history.