The shrine was elevated in rank to Grand Shrine ("jingū") in 1944 (Shōwa 19) when Amaterasu was enshrined, making it the highest-ranking shrine in Taiwan. The opening ceremony of the new shrine was planned to be on October 28. However, on October 23, 1944, a cargo plane lost control and crashed atop the mountain where the Taiwan Grand Shrine was located, heavily damaging roughly half of the shrine. The shrine was never fully repaired due to Japan's surrender after World War II, and much of the shrine's materials were taken for construction projects elsewhere. In its place, the Grand Hotel was constructed in 1952, where it remains as a prominent landmark of the city.