Milestone: The Westin Poinsett celebrates 100 years as downtown Greenville landmark
The Westin Poinsett has stood the test of time for a century in downtown Greenville.
It became one of the city’s first skyscrapers when built in the mid-1920s, anchoring the corner of South Main and West Court streets. The hotel’s 100-year timeline features eras of success and expansion, along with periods of economic hardship and closure.
“(The hotel) is a great mirror for the city and its history,” said John Nolan, owner of Greenville History Tours and board president of the Greenville County Historical Society. “It’s really reflected the ups and downs of our city.”
The reopening of the hotel in 2000 marked a key moment in the revitalization of downtown Greenville. Today, it remains a historic landmark in the city’s ever-changing skyline, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Concept and construction
The Poinsett Hotel was born out of Upstate South Carolina’s textile industry boom in the late 19th and early 20th century. Greenville began hosting the Southern Textile Exposition in the early 1900s, bringing thousands of new visitors to the city every two years. The weeklong event created a strong need for more hotels in downtown Greenville.
John Woodside, a local textile mill owner, and real estate agent William Goldsmith decided to build a new hotel in the city’s center to meet the growing demand. The men established the Greenville Community Hotel Corp. and put out a $650,000 public funding campaign for the $1.5 million hotel.
William Lee Stoddart, a renowned New York architect, designed the Poinsett Hotel using his staple beaux arts architecture style. J.E. Sirrine and Co., a Greenville-based construction firm, assisted with the hotel’s design and built the 12-story structure.
Construction of the Poinsett Hotel began in 1924 and was completed in 1925. The L-shaped hotel stood on the site of the former Mansion House, a resort hotel built in 1824 and torn down in 1924.
The Poinsett Hotel officially opened its doors June 22, 1925. The new hotel featured 210 rooms with private bathrooms, dining rooms, a convention hall, a grill room, a lounge and ground-floor retail shops. It was named in honor of Joel Poinsett, a noted diplomat, politician and botanist in the 19th century.
Struggles and success
The Poinsett Hotel experienced early financial struggles, losing $30,000 in its first year of operation. This downward spiral carried on during the Great Depression, and it continued to lose money. Nolan said the hotel defaulted on its first, second and third mortgages.
J. Mason Alexander was hired in 1930 as the Poinsett Hotel’s new general manager to help improve the financial position. He previously worked at the Ottaray Hotel in Greenville and was considered one of the best hoteliers in the South at that time.
Alexander was known for his “Four C’s” approach to hospitality: cleanliness, cooking, competence and courtesy. He required bellhops and waiters to memorize every guest’s name. Each room had two novels on the nightstand and two postcards with stamps on the desk. Hotel staff members were even instructed to wash the coins in the registers.
By 1940, the Poinsett Hotel became known as “Carolina’s Finest” under Alexander’s leadership. The newfound success led to an expansion in 1941, which added 60 new rooms. The refined hotel welcomed notable guests, including Amelia Earhart, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Liberace and John Barrymore.
Decline and desertion
The hotel began to suffer again in the mid-1950s with the rise of the motel industry. Highway motels rather than city-center hotels became the popular lodging option for travelers. Greenville Mayor Knox White said downtowns in general fell out of favor at that time as suburban living took hold.
The Jack Tar hotel chain bought the Poinsett Hotel in 1959. The new ownership group completed extensive renovations to help modernize the hotel. Air conditioning, TVs, radios, phones, new suites and a 26,000-gallon swimming pool were added. Despite the renovations, the hotel continued to lose money.
The Poinsett Hotel changed hands several times throughout the 1970s and 1980s. One of the hotel’s owners, Jim and Ann Bible, converted the building into an elderly retirement home. It eventually closed in 1987 due to foreclosure and failure to comply with the fire code.
Over the next decade, the vacant hotel fell into disrepair and experienced vandalism and fires. Several plans for the abandoned building were brought forward, but none came to fruition. It was considered among South Carolina’s most endangered historical sites. White said the hotel came very close to being demolished during this time.
Restoration and reopening
Revitalizing downtown Greenville, specifically the Poinsett Hotel, was a priority for White when he became the city’s mayor in 1995. He said it was a miracle when hotelier Steven Dopp called him about potentially purchasing the old Poinsett Hotel.
Dopp and his business partner, Greg Lenox, had recently completed the renovation and reopening of Charleston’s historic Francis Marion Hotel in 1996. The Francis Marion Hotel is considered to be the sister of the Poinsett Hotel.
The men purchased the Poinsett Hotel for $1.5 million in November 1997. Extensive renovations costing more than $20 million were completed by Harper General Contractors over the next several years.
“We knew the bones were good. The structure was good,” Dopp said. “There was a lot of important architectural detail that could be restored that you can’t create anymore.”
Dopp explained the hotel’s old guest rooms were demolished and rebuilt while the lobby, ballrooms, restaurant and other public spaces were fully rehabilitated. Some of the original design elements restored during the renovation process include the hotel’s decorative plaster work, iron railings, tile floors and exterior architecture.
A new parking garage was constructed by the city behind the hotel as renovations were underway. Street and courtyard renovations were also completed outside the hotel’s entrance to reestablish the city’s historic Court Square along Main Street.
The hotel officially reopened as The Westin Poinsett in October 2000.
Impact and influence
Greenville’s central business district continued to transform after the reopening of The Westin Poinsett. White said he believes the hotel’s restoration played an important role in downtown revitalization and the eventual creation of Falls Park on the Reedy.
“The Poinsett was a linchpin for pulling redevelopment down Main Street that then would lead us to the river,” White said. “I really think that one wouldn’t have come without the other.”
Fabian Unterzaucher became the general manager of The Westin Poinsett in 2005. He said the hotel has benefited from the city’s continued growth and success over the past 20 years. The Westin Poinsett features 200 guest rooms and approximately 10,000 square feet of meeting space for weddings, business conferences and other special events.
It joined Historic Hotels of America in 2002 and was named the best city center historic hotel in 2021. Unterzaucher said historic hotels like The Westin Poinsett keep their personality and attractiveness when they are maintained well. Looking toward the future, he said he believes the hotel will continue to thrive as long as the focus remains on service and personal interaction with guests.
“We’re a terrific building that has lasted for a hundred years and will last another hundred years,” Unterzaucher said.
Did you know?
The Poinsett Hotel weighed 36,552,490 pounds when it opened in 1925.
100th anniversary of the Poinsett Hotel event information
The Greenville Historical Society will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Poinsett Hotel on June 22. John Nolan, president of the Greenville Historical Society, will give a special presentation about the hotel with remarks from Greenville Mayor Knox White.
The free event will be hosted at The Westin Poinsett at 120 S. Main. St. Registration is required. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.
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The post Milestone: The Westin Poinsett celebrates 100 years as downtown Greenville landmark appeared first on discover, dine, delight.
The post Milestone: The Westin Poinsett celebrates 100 years as downtown Greenville landmark appeared first on discover, dine, delight.