Cooper Crawford Lightbown

Cooper Crawford Lightbown

Cooper Crawford Lightbown (1886-1941) began his building career in Washington D.C. before moving to Palm Beach and finding work as a carpenter in 1912. Lightbown is credited with the construction of several Mizner oceanfront estates, including the Stotesbury and Dodge mansions, and Mar-a-lago. He also worked on the original construction of the Everglades Club in 1919. In 1922, Lightbown was elected as mayor of Palm Beach, which he served for six years. Regarding Palm Beach, Lightbown once remarked, “If Addison Mizner had not met up with Paris Singer when Paris was in the mood to spend his money, Palm Beach would have been only a flag stop of the Florida East Coast Railway.” After his tenure as mayor, Lightbown left South Florida to establish a family-based construction firm in Maryland. The firm was best known for developing the English village-styled Brookdale community in 1938.