What total project cost did Hilton estimate in 1963 for the original San Francisco Hilton?
The original San Francisco Hilton was an 18-storey hotel beside Union Square that opened in 1964. While it was under construction, Hilton Hotels Corporation reported an estimated total project cost of USD 29 million in its 1963 annual report. That figure is a contemporary forecast for the original hotel, not an audited final cost or a price for its later towers and renovations.
Published project estimate
$29 million
Cost basis: 1963
The short answer
$29 million
Hilton Hotels Corporation estimated the original San Francisco Hilton hotel project at USD 29 million in its 1963 annual report, before the hotel opened. This was a forecast, not a verified final invoice.
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
What the number includes
Cost scope
The 1963 estimate covers the original hotel project. It does not include later towers, the 1980s reconstruction, or modern renovations of the larger Hilton Union Square complex.
Project record
Opened or launched
Wikipedia (Hilton San Francisco Union Square)25 May 1964
Project context
About Hilton San Francisco Union Square
The initial 18-storey hotel opened in 1964. Hilton later expanded the complex, so the historic estimate cannot be read as the cost of today's entire hotel.
Reading the data
How to interpret the figure
The answer quotes Hilton's primary annual report and preserves the estimate's date and scope. USD is used as reported, without conversion or inflation adjustment.