Greenville's American Legion War Museum is packing up for good. After nearly a century housed in the chapter's granite lodge on North Main Street, the museum will temporarily close starting Nov. 15 as American Legion Post 3 relocates to the former Blind Horse Saloon building at 1035 Lowndes Hill Road, next to Greenville Downtown Airport.
Rebecca Conover, commander of the James F. Daniel Jr. American Legion Post 3, announced the closure at Greenville City Council's Oct. 26 meeting, as reported by Greenville Journal. Before the doors shut, the public gets one more chance to walk through: a free final open house runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 14. Conover invited the public to come say goodbye to what she called a city landmark and symbol of veteran life in Greenville.
A Lodge Built From Local Granite, Sold to Out-of-State Developers
The chapter's historic lodge was built in 1933 using locally quarried granite, and American Legion Post 3 itself traces back to 1919, when it was established in Greenville as a local chapter of the national wartime-veterans service organization. The two-story building has long doubled as both a member meeting hall and home to the War Museum's collection of warfighting equipment, uniforms and other artifacts.
That era is ending because the chapter sold its property at the corner of North Main and Academy streets to out-of-state developers in 2025. The site is expected to become part of a major mixed-use redevelopment project planned along North Main Street, per the same Greenville Journal report. The Greenville Design Review Board approved demolition of the historic downtown lodge in February 2025, clearing the way for what comes next.
What Replaces the Legion's Historic Home
According to a separate report from Fox Carolina, the proposed development on and around the site includes two apartment buildings, a parking garage, office spaces and retail shops. A related project description from WSPA describes a proposal that would replace the American Legion building and the vacant Greenville Municipal Courthouse with up to 650 apartments across three buildings, one reaching as tall as 14 stories, with roughly 750 on-site parking spaces. Developer Scott Johnston told WSPA the project is meant to address what he called an extreme housing shortage in Greenville.
Packing up the museum is no small task. Thousands of artifacts will need to be packed and documented for the move to Lowndes Hill Road, and Conover said many pieces in the current collection have never even been displayed because of space constraints at the old lodge. The former Blind Horse Saloon building is being renovated into separate leasable spaces for the Legion and another business, and the chapter's new location will include a dedicated museum area where more of the collection can finally be viewed.
No Firm Move-In Date Yet
Until renovations at the new building are finished, American Legion Post 3 will continue hosting member meetings at its downtown location. Conover said the chapter's move-in timeline remains unknown, leaving the exact date the War Museum reopens at Lowndes Hill Road still to be determined. For now, she said she hopes the public will visit the post and support veterans as the chapter navigates the transition.
