of the building features granite facing, while the ninth floor and the roof are surfaced with terracotta. The eastern facade (facing the Huangpu River and the Bund) features a pyramidal roof with steep sides, and a height of about 10 meters (33 feet). The pyramid is faced with copper, which has corroded to light green. Banks and shops leased the ground floor space until 1949. This space became the Shanghai branch of Citibank in 2002. The fourth through ninth floors once housed the Cathay Hotel. After the Communist takeover in 1949, some of the offices were used by the Municipal Finance Committee. In 1952, the building was taken over by the Municipal Government. In 1956, it once again became a hotel under the name "Peace Hotel". During the Cultural Revolution, the hotel was used by the Gang of Four, most famously by Zhang Chunqiao as he headed the Shanghai Commune from headquarters in the Peace Hotel. Its Old Jazz Band was recently the basis for a movie, "As Time Goes By" a film by Uli Gaulke. Its roof terrace restaurant overlooks the district of Pudong across the Huangpu. This hotel was also used as an inspiration for Vicki Baum's 1937 novel "Shanghai '37", also known as "Hotel Shanghai" and "Nanjing Road". In 2007, the hotel closed for a three-year renovation of both the exterior and interior, including the guest rooms, the lobby, and the dining and entertainment venues. The North Building reopened in 2010, as the Fairmont Peace Hotel Shanghai. The hotel now offers 270 guestrooms and 39 suites, including Victor's Café, named for Sir Victor Sassoon. The eighth floor hosts the Peace Hall, plus several meeting rooms, and an outdoor terrace. A low-rise extension has been added to the rear of the hotel, housing guestrooms, a swimming pool, and spa. South Building Separated from the North Building by Nanjing Road, the South Building dates back to the 1850s, when it was known as the Central Hotel. In 1903, the hotel was restructured and renamed the Palace Hotel. The building that stands today was completed in 1908, and offered two elevators, the first building in Shanghai to do so. It was also once home to a Kuhn & Komor shop. The hotel occupies , with a floor space of . It has a brick veneer, with its six stories reaching in height. The exterior is in a Renaissance style. The