A grand hotel is the prerequisite of a great metropolis, and this 1,000-room masterpiece, built in 1923 and fashioned after a 16C Italianate palace, raised the world's opinion of Los Angeles by embracing people's imagination, much as the new Walt Disney Concert Hall does today. Constructed at the enormous cost of $10 million, "the host of the coast" incorporates extensive brickwork, terra-cotta tile floors, extraordinary woodwork, bas-relief sculptures and tall columns topped by golden capitals in its reception halls. In 1969, the Biltmore was designated a historic and cultural monument, and in the subsequent years it has been restored and renovated to its original splendor. It is now part of the Millennium Hotel group.