Calvin Esau Lightner (March 31, 1878 – May 21, 1960) was an American architect, building contractor, and mortician. He was born in South Carolina and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, to study architectural design at Shaw University. After graduation he took industrial courses at Hampton Institute and studied embalming in Tennessee. He and his brother established the C. E. Lightner and Brothers construction company and built numerous homes for members of Raleigh's black middle class.
Lightner established the first funeral home for black customers in Raleigh along East Hargett Street. He proceeded to construct numerous commercial buildings along the road, thus sparking a shift in the concentration of Raleigh's black-owned businesses to East Hargett, which became known as the city's "Black Main Street." In 1919 he and two other black men launched a political campaign for municipal offices with the goal of arousing political interest in the black community. Lightner sought the post of Commissioner of Public Works. Jim Crow restrictions prevented most black men from voting and all three lost their elections, though Lightner earned 142 votes. In 1921 he built the Mechanics and Farmers Bank Building in Durham and the Lightner Arcade and Hotel in Raleigh. The latter quickly became a center of social activity for Raleigh's black community and hosted musicians Cab Calloway, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. Lightner sold his hotel in 1925 and in 1959 turned over his funeral business to his son, Clarence. Lightner died the following year. Clarence was elected as the first black Mayor of Raleigh in 1973. Most of Lightner's building projects no longer exist.
Early life and education
Calvin Lightner was born on March 31, 1878, in Winnsboro, South Carolina, United States, to Frank and Daphney Lightner. His father had been born into slavery and following emancipation farmed and worked as a carpenter, building homes in Chester. His mother had been born as a free person of color. His maternal grandfather, Joseph Thompson, served in the South Carolina General Assembly during Reconstruction. According to census records, Frank was illiterate whereas Daphney could read. Daphney and her children were classified as mulatto in the 1880 United States census.
Lightner attended grade school in Winnsboro before moving to Chester. He briefly worked as a carpenter's apprentice under his father. He moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1898 and enrolled at Shaw University, studying architectural design. He graduated in 1908 with a Bachelor of Science. He furthered his education with industrial courses at Hampton Institute. He married Mamie A. Blackmon, a fellow student at Hampton and a Raleigh home economics teacher on July 7, 1909, in Wake County. They had four children: Calvin, Lawrence, Clarence, and Margaret. In that year he completed embalming school in Nashville, Tennessee.
Career
By 1906, Lightner had established the construction company of C. E. Lightner and Brothers in Raleigh with his brother Rayford. In 1907 he designed and built his own home in Raleigh. Upon graduation from Shaw, he served as an assistant teacher in the university's industrial shop for a year. His construction company proceeded to erect numerous homes for members of the black middle class in the east and southeast portions of the city. He also built at least one home for a white client in Boylan Heights. Various sources state that Lightner did all his own drawings and blueprints for his projects. His company used wooden trusses instead of steel in its buildings.