I. M. Pei; chief designer: Araldo Cossutto
1956; 1960
This long slender convention hotel occupies an entire block. It is characterized as International Style architecture with an influence as well of Le Corbusier, especially in the deep-set windows and decorative grillwork. It is "constructed of a unique cast concrete aggregate, made in Salt Lake City from soil excavated at the site. The material reflects Pei's philosophy that a building should come from the earth" (Paglia et al 34).
The Hilton Hotel is the only part of the original Zeckendorf Plaza to have survived. This plaza had included an ice rink, a department store, and a "hyperbolic paraboloid showroom" (Paglia 35)--all of which formed a unified whole.