Applications folder stuck as a package

My Applications folder was stuck as a package. This means that it behaves like a program when I double-click on it, barring access to all my applications. I had to go into the terminal, move all the files to another folder, delete the bad Applications folder, then rename the new folder back to Applications to solve the problem. I was just wondering if there was a "correct" way to solve this problem. This happened after I installed MacMAME incorrectly, I think. For some reason, when I dragged MacMAME from the mounted dmg image to the Applications folder, it treated the Applications folder as the MacMAME application.

Well, I already know how to look inside packages. My question is how to get Mac OS to recognize a folder as a package and how to make it not a package. I know adding .app to the end of the filename is one method, but my folder became a package without any file extensions. So how does one change a folder to a package and a package back to a folder? Of course, in the terminal packages just look like regular folders, but sometimes I want to use Finder.

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