The complex of towers and buildings that make up the Porte Océane (Ocean Gate) stands at the end of Foch Avenue, by the sea. Based on the 1950 Perret Reconstruction plan, it was built between 1951 and 1956 by André Hermant and Jacques Poirrier.
Several contemporary writers describe this architectural work, which also plays its full role when seen in perspective with the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) to the East, and the steeple of Saint-Joseph Church to the South. Benoît Duteurtre (born 1960) pays tribute to the beauty of the complex in his novel L’Été 76 (2011).

Yoland Simon (born 1941) also recalls his affection for Auguste Perret’s design in Roman du Havre (2011). The author explains that it took time for the inhabitants of Le Havre to accept and like Perret’s style. He then walks the reader through the beautiful works of this architecture, embodied, among others, by Foch Avenue, which opens onto the Porte Océane.
In the novel Vacarme dans la salle de bal (1998) by François Vallejo (born 1960), the characters meet on Foch Avenue on a celebration day of the Liberation of France and dance to jazz music. This excerpt, focusing more on the sounds of Le Havre rather than on images, implicitly recalls the destruction of the old city in 1944.

The Porte Océane also features in several films, when directors want to present Le Havre as a setting, including in Disco by Fabien ONTENIENTE (2008), 38 Witnesses by Lucas BELVAUX (2012) or The Fairy by Dominique ABEL, Fiona GORDON and Bruno ROMY (2011).