The Wave (formerly the Lord Balfour), 350 Ocean Drive
Originally known as the Lord Balfour, this Streamline Moderne structure at the southwest corner of 4th Street and Ocean Drive has been called The Wave since 2000, when it reopened after a year of renovations. Built in 1941 and designed by Anton Skislewicz, the Lord Balfour is a treat to view both by day and by night, as seen at left in a sketch made while the hotel was still known as the Lord Balfour (and before palm trees obscured the Lord Balfour sign — which The Wave owners are required to keep intact, if not lighted, under Miami Beach's historic preservation laws). Other than the Century at 140 Ocean Drive, which has less than half the number of rooms, the Lord Balfour is probably the best hotel on lower Ocean Drive in terms of design.
Across the street from the Lord Balfour on the east side of Ocean Drive is the Ocean Point condominium at 345 Ocean Drive (left). It was originally the site of the Hotel Normandie. Virtually identical to its neighbors to the north, the Presidential and the Royal Atlantic, this huge condo building was blessed a few years ago with a salmon-peach paint job that helps what would otherwise be an incompatible building be a bit more compatible.
Just south of the Lord Balfour on the west side of Ocean Drive at number 344 are the Ocean Beach Apartments, which were also known as the Feiner Ocean Apartments. Designed in a hybrid of Mediterranean Revival and Art Deco known as "Med-Deco," this structure was designed by V.H. Nellenbogen and built in the mid-1930s.
Next door to the Ocean Beach Apartments is the Ocean Blue Hotel at 334 Ocean Drive. This pure Art-Deco-style structure has been sporadically maintained over the years and has been an "SRO" (single room occupancy) hotel for some time, housing a number of low-income and formerly homeless tenants.
At 335 Ocean Drive, just south of the Ocean Point condominium on the east side of the street, is the former Sorrento Hotel, now renovated as a hotel/condominium and renamed the Ocean Walk. It was originally known as the Somerset Hotel. A pure Art-Deco style structure, it is one of the last pre-World War II oceanfront buildings in South Beach. The rear facade of the building facing the beach is utterly bland, unlike the Ocean Drive facade.
Two doors to the south of the Ocean Walk (after the non-descript Atlantic Gardens condominium at number 325) is the Simone Hotel. Like the Ocean Blue across the street, it did service for a number of years as an SRO hotel. Its tenants were removed and it is now under renovation. Along with the Savoy, the Ocean Walk, and the Villa Luisa two blocks south, it is the last of the pre-World War II beachside hotels in South Beach.
One the west side of the street is probably the oldest building on this block, the former Biltmore Apartments at 312 Ocean Drive. It was built in the 1920s during Miami Beach's (then called Ocean Beach) first boom period and was designed in Mediterranean Revival style, which pre-dated Art Deco. Empty now, it is about to undergo renovation.
Immediately south of the Biltmore Apartments is this pure Art-Deco style beauty at 304 Ocean Drive, on the northwest corner of 3rd Street. Originally called the Sea Spray, renovation work is almost complete and it will soon re-open as a condominium building called the Madison.
Ocean Beach Apartments, 344 Ocean Drive
Ocean Blue Hotel, 334 Ocean Drive
Ocean Walk (formerly the Sorrento), 335 Ocean Drive
Simone Hotel, 321 Ocean Drive
The former Biltmore Apartments, 312 Ocean Drive
The Madison (formerly the Sea Spray), 304 Ocean Drive
On the ocean side of the street across from the Biltmore Apartments and the Sea Spray is a vacant lot that many years ago was the site of the Hotel Whitehart. Just south of this lot is 301 Ocean Drive (left), a condominium building that stands on the site of the old Hotel Belmont. This building is narrow and considerably smaller in scale than the three 11-story condos a block north.