Interior view is Watkins and the exterior view is Continent Stereoscopic Company. The Palace Hotel was built by San Francisco banker and entrepreneur William Chapman Ralston who heavily depended on his shaky banking empire to help finance the $5 million project. William Sharon ended up in control of the hotel after the collapse of the Bank of California and Ralston's suicide. With 755 guest rooms, the original Palace Hotel (also known colloquially as the "Bonanza Inn") was at the time of its construction the largest hotel in the Western United States. The hotel burned after the great earthquake of 1906. San Francisco California