The Clevelander Hotel on Ocean Drive has long symbolized the tourist side of South Beach, and now the hotel is getting a major renovation that includes a complete new wing containing more rooms and a new bar area.

The original Albert Anis-designed hotel was constructed in 1938 and further expanded in the 1950s by architect Robert Swarthburg to include what is now the outdoor area that is so popular with tourists, especially the MiMO-styled flying saucer feature.

The outdoor bar surrounding the Clevelander’s pool area is a world-famous destination for Miami Beach visitors and to date has vastly over-shadowed the Clevelander’s marginal hotel operations. The Clevelander has the highest liquor sales figures in all of Florida. But, all that is supposed to change when the Clevelander’s reopens this fall.

The new wing being built at the rear of the pool area will have a separate entrance on 10th Street and will contain new hotel rooms and a ground-level bar area. This will allow the original hotel lobby that fronts Ocean Drive and which houses part of the current bar operation, to be restored to its historic configuration and original guest check-in function.

The Clevelander was first opened by the Ratner Family of Cleveland, Ohio who owned the property until the mid-1980s.