History of the lowe hotel
Formerly The Spencer HoteL
The Lowe Hotel, originally known as “The Spencer Hotel,” is a historic landmark in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Built in 1904 at the corner of Main and Fourth Streets in the heart of the Point Pleasant Historic District, it was erected by the Mutual Realty Company from Cleveland berea stone and red brick — commissioned in honor of J.S. Spencer, a local financier, judge, and steamboat operator.
The hotel was the vision of two brothers, Homer and Griff Smith, and opened its doors to the public in 1904.
The hotel opened with grandeur.
Its ground floor housed a lobby, a barber shop, a bar and grill, dry goods rooms, banking rooms for the Merchants National Bank, a ladies' reception area, a billiards room, and other first-floor amenities.
Guest rooms filled the upper floors, and the building also featured a mezzanine and a grand ballroom.
RENAMED The LOWE HOTEL
In 1929, following the stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression, ownership changed: the Lowe family purchased the building and renamed it the Lowe Hotel.
Under its new stewardship, the hotel became a gathering place for local community, civic, and church events.
Over the decades that followed, the building remained in use.
Nearly 60 years later in 1990, it was purchased by Rush and Ruth Finley, who preserved the hotel and its historic features, updated it where needed, and maintained its old-world charm while keeping its amenities current.
For more than 30 years, the Finleys were its devoted caretakers.
BUILT FOR THE RIVER
The Spencer, now The Lowe Hotel, was originally built to serve the heavy river traffic that stopped at Point Pleasant in its prime.
Rooms on the 3rd floor were set aside especially for tradesmen and river men, and when the Security Steamboat Company launched in 1914, the hotel became a favored stop for its passengers and crew alike.
For a bustling river town, The Spencer Hotel was the place to be.
A NEW CHAPTER AT THE LOWE
Today, The Lowe Hotel enters a new era.
Under new ownership, the building is undergoing a careful restoration — preserving the craftsmanship and character that have defined it for over a century, while preparing it for its next generation of guests.
More than a hundred years after The Spencer Hotel first opened its doors, its story continues.
Sign up on our homepage to follow the restoration, and explore the tales this building has gathered on our Legends page.