Greenville · Downtown – Main Street
The Westin Poinsett
Greenville's 12-story Poinsett Hotel of 1925 by William Lee Stoddart, which stood empty for years before reopening as a Westin in 2000.
- Built
- 1925Built 1925 as the Poinsett Hotel on the site of the 1824 Mansion House; enlarged by 60 rooms before World War II; restored and reopened as The Westin Poinsett on October 22, 2000.
- Style
- Beaux-Arts (three-part skyscraper)
- Architect
- William Lee Stoddart (J.E. Sirrine Company, builder)
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Area
- Downtown – Main Street
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Historic Hotels of America member
The story
The 12-story Poinsett, named for Joel R. Poinsett, Secretary of War under Martin Van Buren, was one of Greenville’s first skyscrapers, built in 1925 for $1.5 million on the site of the Mansion House hotel. Manager J. Mason Alexander made it profitable with his “Four C’s” and a policy of washing coins in the registers, and guests included Amelia Earhart, John Barrymore, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Robert Kennedy and Liberace. After decades of decline, including use as a retirement home, it stood empty and was named one of South Carolina’s most endangered sites. The owners of Charleston’s Francis Marion Hotel bought it in 1997 and reopened it as The Westin Poinsett on October 22, 2000.
Good to know
- Address: 120 South Main Street, Greenville, SC 29601
Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.