Poinsett Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Poinsett Hotel
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Poinsett Hotel
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | 120 South Main Street, Greenville, South Carolina |
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| Area | .86 acres (0.35 ha) |
| Built | 1925 |
| Architect | William Lee Stoddart |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts; Skyscraper |
| MPS | Greenville MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003863 |
| Added to NRHP | July 1, 1982 |
The Poinsett Hotel, also known as the Westin Poinsett Hotel, is a tall, twelve-story hotel in downtown Greenville, South Carolina. It is a famous landmark and was one of the first skyscrapers built in Greenville. The hotel was named after Joel R. Poinsett. He was a South Carolinian who served as a government official, including a time as the Secretary of War. The Poinsett Hotel replaced an older hotel called the Mansion House, which was built in 1824. The Poinsett Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, which means it's an important historic site.
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Building a Grand Hotel
The Poinsett Hotel was built at a time when smaller cities in the South wanted fancy hotels. These hotels would attract business travelers and show that the cities were growing and modern. The idea for the Poinsett Hotel came partly from the need to host visitors for a big textile (fabric) exhibit held in Greenville every two years.
The old Mansion House hotel was torn down to make space for the new building. A famous architect from New York, William Lee Stoddart, designed the larger hotel. To get money for the project, local business people, led by John T. Woodside, sold shares of stock for $100 each. About 1,700 local residents bought these shares. The hotel was named after Joel R. Poinsett, who was a South Carolinian and the first U.S. Minister to Mexico. Construction began in May 1924, and the Poinsett Hotel opened in June 1925. It cost about $1.5 million to build.
Early Challenges and Big Success
When it first opened, the hotel didn't make money right away. It actually lost $30,000 in its first year and didn't make a profit for five years. However, during the later years of the Great Depression, the hotel started to do very well. This was thanks to the manager, J. Mason Alexander. He focused on making sure customers were happy and received excellent service.
Under Alexander's leadership, the Poinsett became one of the most successful and popular hotels in the South. In 1946, the Poinsett was even named the best medium-sized hotel in the entire country! In 1941, sixty more rooms were added, bringing the total to 248 rooms.
Changes and Closure
In the 1950s, more and more people started owning cars. This meant city hotels like the Poinsett lost business to motels, which were built along major highways. In 1959, the Poinsett Hotel was sold to Jack Tar Hotels. Even with new wiring, telephones, ice machines, and a swimming pool added in 1964, the hotel continued to struggle.
The hotel changed owners several times in the 1970s and 1980s. Starting in 1977, one owner, James C. Bible, tried to turn the hotel into apartments for retired people. But he often had problems with the city government because he couldn't meet the fire code safety rules. The city finally closed the hotel in January 1987. For the next ten years, the building was damaged by vandals, and people even set two fires inside. The Poinsett Hotel was considered one of the most endangered historic buildings in South Carolina.
A New Beginning for the Poinsett
Luckily, downtown Greenville began to get a fresh start and improve. In November 1997, two developers, Steve Dopp and Greg Lenox, bought the Poinsett. They had also worked on restoring the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, which was also designed by William Stoddart. They partnered with Westin Hotels & Resorts to reopen the hotel.
The restoration project cost about $20 million. It received about $4 million in tax money and special tax credits for restoring historic buildings. The hotel, now called the Westin Poinsett, reopened on October 22, 2000. By 2014, tripadvisor.com ranked the Poinsett as the best among 63 hotels in Greenville.
See also
- In Spanish: Poinsett Hotel para niños
