RABIH AMMASHE SHOWS DESIGNS FOR THE NEW BEIRUT HILTON HOTEL, 2000-10-05 (photo)

Rabih Ammache, board member of Societe Mediterraneenne des Grands Hotels, the firm which owns the destroyed Beirut Hilton, shows Reuters designs for the new $70 million hotel that will replace the current one on in this October 5, 2000 photo. A party was being prepared for the inauguration of the 400-room Hilton when the civil war erupted in 1975 and the hotel was in the middle of a battle zone, turning into a charred edifice like the rest of the famed hotel district on the Mediterranean coast. Ammache says the demolition of the current building, a Beirut landmark, will start in 3-4 weeks, and the new hotel will retain the Hilton name. DS/WS