Hilton (or not) (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington: apartment, foreclosure, lender)

[trotter_rej]

Regardless of the new brand, I am preparing my Pittsburghese directions for visitors, "Turn left when you get to the hotel that used to be the Hilton..."

[greg42]

Originally Posted by trotter_rej

Regardless of the new brand, I am preparing my Pittsburghese directions for visitors, "Turn left when you get to the hotel that used to be the Hilton..."

Yep

It's actually a tough assignment for the new brand. That hotel will be called the Hilton for years.

[BrianTH]

That is actually a generous amount of explanation. Typically formulations will likely include:

"Turn left where the Hilton used to be . . . "

and

"Turn left at the old Hilton . . . "

and

"Turn left at the Hilton . . . ."

[WILWRadio]

I'd say there may be some historic significance associated with this building and that preserving it and rehabbing it, provided that it is cost effective, is a worthy endeavor. Wasn't this one of the first buildings to go up in the Golden Triangle?

[pman]

not to rain on your parade, but that's pennsylvanian, not pittsburghese.
that building is an ugly dump, wouldn't mind seeing it go if it's replaced with a better building. as it is, it doesn't even make good use of it's footprint. hopefully they will have the good sense to put bathroom fans in. hopefully hilton will resurface elsewhere in town.

[greg42]

LOL at that obsession with bathroom fans. It's quite common in high-rise buildings, including hotels, to have a larger scale ventilation system, as opposed to individual fans. I've learned more recently this actually consists of a large fan unit on the roof that draws the air out through what otherwise appear to be passive vents in the wall. It's possible this was not functioning properly, but if working this should be adequate in most cases. More often than not, hotels do not have individual bathroom fans. The scales involved (venting 600+ fans and maintaining them) just make it more efficient to have a different type of system.

The building is being painted. I don't know what the final color of the upper part is, though, whether it is the same as the lower part or not. There's no way it'll be taken down. Although some of its value is in the contents, the structure alone is still worth far more standing than destroyed.

[BrianTH]

I think the building fits well into that section of town between Commonwealth and Stanwix (which is full of mid-20th Century buildings). I'm reasonably confident that with the shakeup, it will once again become an asset for the City.

Edit: Oh, and I'm pretty sure One, Two, and Three Gateway were finished first, then the State Office Building, and then the Hilton and Four Gateway. But this was all a key part of "Renaissance I" as it is sometimes now known, and therefore historically significant.

[bradjl2009]

I think it will be a better hotel now with a new brand and a new owner.

[pman]

Originally Posted by greg42

LOL at that obsession with bathroom fans. It's quite common in high-rise buildings, including hotels, to have a larger scale ventilation system, as opposed to individual fans
I've learned more recently this actually consists of a large fan unit on the roof that draws the air out through what otherwise appear to be passive vents in the wall. It's possible this was not functioning properly, but if working this should be adequate in most cases. More often than not, hotels do not have individual bathroom fans. The scales involved (venting 600+ fans and maintaining them) just make it more efficient to have a different type of system.

you're missing the forest for the trees. whatever system they were using, or not using, wasn't working. I quickly found out why it was cheaper than the other hotels. to this day I recomend to others that they avoid this dump

Originally Posted by greg42

The building is being painted. I don't know what the final color of the upper part is, though, whether it is the same as the lower part or not. There's no way it'll be taken down. Although some of its value is in the contents, the structure alone is still worth far more standing than destroyed.

most likely, but it's still ugly, and makes a decidedly inefficient use of it's floorplate. I don't really think it will be torn down, or even have it's ugly facade replaced, I just wish that would happen. It wouldn't kill them to add a second tower and change the way the building interacts with its surroundings (or rather, doesn't).

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I think the building fits well into that section of town between Commonwealth and Stanwix (which is full of mid-20th Century buildings). I'm reasonably confident that with the shakeup, it will once again become an asset for the City.

Edit: Oh, and I'm pretty sure One, Two, and Three Gateway were finished first, then the State Office Building, and then the Hilton and Four Gateway. But this was all a key part of "Renaissance I" as it is sometimes now known, and therefore historically significant.

actually, it does a pretty awful job of recognizing the surrounding plaza, point park, let alone the flow of the park or streets.