After five decades as a Downtown landmark, The Hotel Formerly Known As the Hilton has had a falling out in recent years with Pittsburgh. Last week it broke the city's heart.

In a prime location since 1959 at the base of the Golden Triangle, near the mouth of the Fort Pitt Tunnel and across the street from Point State Park, The Hotel That Used to Be the Hilton was a worthy calling card for a city with a reputation for dispelling newcomers' misconceptions.

The 17-story, 700-room facility is the city's largest hotel and has a golden exterior that beckons visitors like sunshine. Since Pittsburgh's first renaissance, the rooftop neon Hilton sign has reminded passing motorists that a well-known standard of quality awaited them near the nexus of three rivers, where so much history was written.

But that friendly association, between Downtown and What Everyone Called the Hilton, ended Thursday when Hilton Hotels & Resorts terminated its franchise license agreement with Shubh Hotels Pittsburgh LLC, the building's owner since 2006, for unspecified violations.

We're hardly surprised. The property was on a downward spiral since construction workers walked off the job in May 2009 when contractor P.J. Dick was not paid for its share of work in a $25 million renovation. During the G-20 Summit last September, the hotel's idle work site had to be wrapped in a banner to hide its unsightliness. Assorted claims were filed in court, liens were placed against the building and the property's ownership underwent a financial restructuring.

In July the hotel said construction work resumed, only to be followed Thursday by the Hilton corporation's lost faith in the franchisee and Friday by the hotel's lender seeking a court order to sell the facility. A spokesman for the hotel says talks are under way to re-acquire the Hilton name. That might be the best and quickest solution.

But if that doesn't happen, The Hotel That Lost the Right to Be Called Hilton deserves to be purchased and given an owner and nameplate worthy of its place in Pittsburgh.

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