Former Lightner Arcade
- Address: 122 E. Hargett St., Raleigh, NC 27601
- Area: Downtown Raleigh
- Phone: NA
About
Built in 1921 by Shaw alumnus, builder and businessman Calvin E. Lightner (1877-1960), the arcade was the heart of downtown Raleigh’s Black main street and a hub for social life during segregation. The building housed a barber college and shop, drugstore, hotel, newspaper and restaurant. The hotel itself was one of few places for Black travelers to lodge between Florida and Washington, D.C., and it welcomed the period’s notables such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The arcade burned in 1970.
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About
Built in 1921 by Shaw alumnus, builder and businessman Calvin E. Lightner (1877-1960), the arcade was the heart of downtown Raleigh’s Black main street and a hub for social life during segregation. The building housed a barber college and shop, drugstore, hotel, newspaper and restaurant. The hotel itself was one of few places for Black travelers to lodge between Florida and Washington, D.C., and it welcomed the period’s notables such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The arcade burned in 1970.