Inventory of the Emerson Knight Collection, 1898-1965
Adrine Arakelian
Environmental Design Archives
College of Environmental Design
230 Wurster Hall #1820
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
Phone: (510) 642-5124
Fax: (510) 642-2824
Email: designarchives@berkeley.edu
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/
© 2010
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Emerson Knight Collection, 1898-1965
Collection number: 2004-2
Environmental Design Archives
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Processed by:
- Adrine Arakelian
- Date Completed:
- February 2008
- Encoded by:
- Devan McGirr
- Funding:
- Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning.
© 2010 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Emerson Knight collection
Dates: 1898-1965
Collection number: 2004-2
Creator:
Knight, Emerson, 1882-1960
Collector:
Environmental Design Archives
Collection Size:
1 carton, 3 boxes, 1 half box, 1 flat box, 1 tube, 4 shoeboxes
Repository:
Environmental Design Archives
College of Environmental Design
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Physical location: Environmental Design Archives
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California 94720-1820
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Emerson Knight Collection, 2004-2, Environmental Design Archives. College of
Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley.
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by the family in 2004.
Biographical Note
Emerson Knight (1882-1960)
Emerson Knight was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1882 and moved to Los Angeles when he was nine years old. His father, William
Henry Knight, was an author, astronomer, and California pioneer. In 1913, Knight embarked on a walking tour of England and
studied art in Paris. He returned to Los Angeles in 1916, but soon indulged his trekking desire by walking to Monterey, stopping
at the California missions along the way.
He began supervising landscape developments for Cammillo Fancheschi in Santa Barbara, and in 1917 became an associate of Mark
Daniels, a San Francisco landscape engineer. Knight took charge of 80 acres of the J. Cheever Cowdin estate in Hillsborough
(south of San Francisco), and designed gardens and country estates in San Francisco and the peninsula. In 1918, Mark Daniels
left his office, including most of his equipment and books, to Knight.
In the late 1920s, Knight traveled to Mexico where he did studies for the Mexican National Highway Commission regarding areas
that might be developed into parklands and historic monuments. He was awarded a diploma as an honorary member of the Sociedad
Forestal Mexicana. Upon returning to the United States, Knight worked for the Save-the-Redwoods League, the Monterey City
Planning Commission, the California State Park Commission, and the National Park Service. He was elected as a member of the
American Society of Landscape Architects, and established the San Francisco headquarters at his office so that the Society
could qualify for representation in the San Francisco Federation of Arts. He was involved in the plan for the preservation
of historic Monterey and worked on park surveys, including one with Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
Outdoor theaters played a major role in Knight's career. In 1924 he oversaw the completion of a garden theater on the Max
Cohn estate, Little Brook Farm, in Los Gatos. He designed the Woodland Theater in Hillsborough, and collaborated with Regua
and Jackson on the Mount Helix theater outside San Diego. Knight is probably best known for his design of the Mountain Theatre
on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County. Planning for the project began in the late 1920s, but progress was slow until 1934 when
Knight convinced the National Park Service to get involved. (Knight was working as an inspector for the Park Service at the
time.) The Civilian Conservation Corp was then engaged to work on the theater, which was completed in 1938. Knight's design
for the theater was intended to blend into the natural environment, using natural elements as much as possible. Large boulders
were used for seats, trees and bushes were transported to the site to create natural boundaries for the stage, and drinking
fountains were built of indigenous rock.
In the 1940s, Emerson Knight suffered a period of ill health, but still wrote articles and poetry. He served as associate
editor for The Architect and Engineer magazine for 11 years, and was a member of the San Francisco Arts Commission and the
Commonwealth Club. He died in 1960.
Source:
Dean Luckhart. Emerson Knight: Landscape Architect 1882-1960. Paper for L.A. 2, University of California, Berkeley, 1962.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Emerson Knight Collection spans the years 1898 to 1965 and documents Knight's personal life, projects, and professional
activities through reports and correspondence, drawings, and photographs. The collection is arranged in four series: Personal
Papers, Professional Papers, Project Records, and National Park Service. The Personal Papers include personal correspondence
and photographs, along with other personal memorabilia. The Professional Papers include correspondence, writings, and reports
for organizations with which Knight was involved, such as Save the Redwoods League and Protect the Mother Lode Society, documentation
of activity in other professional organizations, writings for publications, and reference files.
The Project Records document projects developed by Knight from 1927-1949 through drawings, photographs, and records consisting
of reports and correspondence. Knight is well known for the design of the Mountain Theater at Mount Tamalpais that is documented
in photographs and drawings. A previous donation of Knight's papers contains further documentation of the Mountain Theater
in the form of correspondence and reports. His work on parks and preservation for the Mexican government is also documented
in reports and photographs. Additional documents include records and photographs of his project in Monterey, CA, limited photographic
documentation of residential projects completed by Knight, and one drawing of a planting plan for his own residence.
The National Park Service series includes projects Knight worked on during his years at the National Park Service, from 1934-1937.
Projects from that time include reports and correspondence for preserving historic Monterey, CA, work on Oregon coast parks,
the California coast and beaches, and East Bay Regional Parks, in addition to other projects.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Landscape architects--California.
Landscape architecture--California.
Genres and Forms of Material
Landscape architecture drawings
Related Collections
Emerson Knight Collection, (1954-1), Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
Series Description and Container List
I. Personal Papers
1991-1965
Series Scope and Content Summary
Series consists of manuscripts and photographs documenting correspondence with family and friends, in particular with his
nephew Waldo Ruess, and additional correspondence between his sister, Stella Knight Ruess, and friend, Fred Whittlesey, regarding
Knight's estate after his death. The photographs consist of portraits of Knight, his family, friends, and photographic studies
of San Francisco and its vicinity. The travel subseries consists of photographs of Knight's European travels that were collected
in a scrapbook, in addition to other photographs of travels. Additional materials include personal and family artifacts such
as pages from Knight's scrapbook, a condensed diary, an account book, and other ephemera. Biographical information consists
of a curriculum vitae and a student paper about Knight for which interviews and other primary source information were compiled.
Knight's writings consist of notes and poetry written by Knight and collected poems by various other writers.
Box 1, Folder 1
A. Biographical Information
Box 1, Folder 2
Biography of Knight - Student Paper
1962
Box 1, Folder 3
Personal Correspondence of Travels
1909-1957
Box 1, Folder 4
Marta Davidson Carr
1919-1920
Box 1, Folder 6
Waldo Ruess and Emerson Knight
1942-1960
Box 1, Folder 7
Maria Allen Bazzi
ca. 1942
Box 1, Folder 8
Stella Knight Ruess Re: EK's death
1960
Box 1, Folder 9
Re: EK's Funeral, Will, and Estate
1960-1962
Box 1, Folder 10
Stella Knight Ruess and Fred Whittlesey
1960-1964
Box 1, Folder 11
Re: Hattie B. Knight Estate
1964-1965
Box 1, Folder 12
Re: Stella Knight Ruess Estate
1965
C: Personal and Family Artifacts
Box 1, Folder 13
Pages from Emerson Knight's Scrapbook
1894-1950
Box 1, 6, 10, Folder 14
Personal Artifacts
1903-1924,
1935,
1938,
n.d.
Box 1, Folder 15
Book by Stella Knight Ruess
1910
Box 1, Folder 16
Family Artifacts
ca. 1917
Box 1, Folder 17
Pressed Plant Specimens
n.d.
Box 1, Folder 18
Death certificate and Mortuary Photographs
1960
Box 1, Folder 19
San Francisco Chronicle Obituary and Funeral Notices
1960
Box 1, Folder 21
Family Portraits
1882,
n.d.
Box 2, 7, Folder 22
Emerson Knight, Friends, and Family Portraits
1900-1957
Box 2, Folder 23
Personal Photographs
1919-1947
Box 7, 10
San Francisco Bay Area
1925-1951
Box 9
California State Parks
1934-1936
Box 8
Europe - from scrapbook
n.d.
Box 9
Missions San Juan Bautista and San Miguel
1942
Box 2, Folder 25-27
Emerson Knight's Poetry - Records of Walks in Europe
ca. 1913-1950
Box 2, Folder 28
Collected Poetry, not written by Knight
n.d.
Box 2, Folder 29
Emerson Knight's Notes
1915,
n.d.
II. Professional Papers
1922-1949
Series Scope and Content Summary
Series consists of Knight's correspondence, photographs, reports, and writings for the Mother Lode Society and the Save the
Redwoods League. Writings consist of articles written for publications such as Architect and Engineer, California Arts and
Architecture, and Landscape Architecture. The reference file consists of park research, primarily the writings of John C.
Merriam, and outdoor theater research. Additionally, Knight's certificate as a member of the San Francisco Art Commission,
an honorary diploma from the Sociedad Mexicano Forestal, and limited manuscript from his membership in the Commonwealth Club
are included.
A. Associations and Committees
Box 3, Folder 1
San Francisco Arts Commission
1933,
1938
Box 10
Honorary Diploma - Sociedad Forestal Mexicana
1929
Box 3, Folder 3
he Architect and Engineer, writings on the west
1920s
Box 3, Folder 4
The Architect and Engineer, writings on Mexico
1931
Box 3, Folder 5
Writing - various
ca. 1930,
ca 1954
Box 3, Folder 6
Landscape Architecture, Mount Tam
1949
Box 3, Folder 7
Parks Research - John C. Merriam
1933-1939
Box 3, Folder 8
UC Berkeley Greek Theater (photographs)
1936
Box 3, Folder 9
The Gonzales Historical Memorial (photographs)
1937
D. Protect the Mother Lode Society
Box 3, Folder 10
Mother Lode - Notes and Clippings
1938-1941
Box 3, Folder 11
Protect the Mother Lode Society
1940-1941
Box 3, Folder 12
Mother Lode - Sunset Magazine Articles, published and drafts
1940-1941
Box 3, Folder 13
Correspondence - Sunset Magazine Article
1940-1941
Box 3, Folder 14
Correspondence - Emerson Knight and Anson S. Blake
1940
Box 3, Folder 15
Correspondence - Historical Society of Southern California
1940
Box 3, Folder 16
Society of California Pioneers
1940
Box 3, Folder 17
Mother Lode Maps
1935,
1940,
1941
Box 3, 7, Folder 18-21
Photographs - Mother Lode
1938-1942
E. Save the Redwoods League
Box 4, Folder 22
Articles of Incorporation
1920
Box 4, Folder 22
Articles of Incorporation
1920
Box 4, Folder 23
Effects of Highway through Nelson and Sicklen Grove
1938
Box 4, Folder 24
Studies of Redwoods for Carnegie Institute of Washington
1938-1940
Box 4, Folder 25
Human Values of the Redwoods
1939
Box 4, Folder 26
Avenue of the Giants
1941
Box 4, Folder 27
Save the Redwoods League Publications
1954,
1958,
n.d.
Box 4, Folder 28-32
Photographs
1910,
1926,
1929,
1930,
1942,
n.d.
Box 7
Photographs - Del Norte Coast Park, Stout Grove, "Human Values" Study, Calavera Big Trees, Trips
1930-1945
III. Project Records
1927-1949
Series Scope and Content Summary
The Project Records include records consisting of correspondence and reports, photographs, and drawings of projects designed
by Knight. Drawings and photographs of Mountain Theater are included; the photographs illustrate the construction process
as well as the finished design. Records and photographs are included for his projects in Mexico and Monterey, CA. Limited
photographs of his residential projects are included in the collection as well as one drawing of his private residence. The
collection does not include project records for his private residential designs. Additionally, a presentation board featuring
samples of his private projects and outdoor amphitheaters is included.
Box 5, 9, 10, Folder 28-32
Cohn, Max M., Los Gatos, CA - photographs
1924
Box 9
Cowdin Estate - Photographs
1917
Box 5, 9, Folder 2
Epstein, Gustav Estate - Photographs
1924
Box 10
Kaye, L.M. - Presentation Board - Photograph
n.d.
Box 5, Folder 3-5
Mexico, Federal Government
1929-1930
Box 5, Folder 6-11
Mexico - Photographs
1924,
1927-1931,
1938-1939
Box 9
Moon, Merle B. Estate - Photographs
1923
Box 5, Folder 14
Mount Helix Nature Theater - Photographs
1928
Box 5, Folder 15-16
Mount Tam, Mountain Theater, Marin Co., CA
1932-1954
Box 5, 9, Folder 17-18
Mount Tam, Mountain Theater - Photographs
1935-1939
1948-1949
1954
Box 9
Mount Tam, Mountain Theater - Photographs of construction
1934-1937
Box 9
Sherwood, Mrs. Eleanor H. - photographs
1931
Box 5, Folder 19
St. Augustine, FL - Zoning Ordinance for the City of St. Augustine
1938
Box 10
Woodland Theater - Presentation Board - Photograph
1927
IV. National Parks Service
1934-1937
Series Scope and Content Summary
The National Parks Service series consists of correspondence, reports, and photographs of projects Knight completed while
employed by the National Park Service between 1934 and1937. The projects include reports for the establishment of future
parks, reports on park features such as trails, and a historic preservation report for Monterey, CA.
Box 5, Folder 1
Correspondence
1934,
1937
Box 5, 9, Folder 2
Alameda and Contra Costa Counties,CA - East Bay Regional Park, Preliminary Report
1934,
1936
Box 5, Folder 3
Boulder Dam, AZ and NV - National Recreational Reserve
1936
Box 9
Boulder Lake - photographs
1935-1936
Box 5, Folder 3
Boulder Dam, AZ and NV - National Recreational Reserve
1936
Box 5, Folder 4
Butano-Gazos, CA - Study of a National Seashore Recreation Area
1935
Box 5, Folder 5
California - Report on National Beach Parks Proposed
1934
Box 9
Fort Churchill - photographs
1934
Box 9
La Purisima Mission -photographs
1936
Box 5, 9, Folder 6
Mattole-Humboldt, CA - Study of a National Seashore Recreation Area
1935
Box 9, 10
Monterey, CA -photographs
1929
1935-1939
Box 5, Folder 10
Oregon-Coast Parks
1929
1934
Box 9
Ozette Lake, WA - Proposed National Seashore Recreation Area - photographs
1935
1934
Box 9
Pistol, River, OR - Proposed National Seashore Recreation Area - photographs
1935
1934
Box 9
Pistol, River, OR - Proposed National Seashore Recreation Area - photographs
1935
1934
Box 5, 9, Folder 11
Point Lobos Reserve, CA - Report on Motor Parking
1937
Box 9
Point Lobos, CA - photographic studies
1936-1937
Box 5, Folder 12
Point Reyes Peninsula, CA - Study of a National Seashore Recreation Area
1935
Box 9
Rogue River, OR - Proposed National Seashore Recreation Area - photographs
1935
Box 5, Folder 13
San Juan Islands, WA - Report
1937
Box 9
Tahoe Proposed Park - photographs
1935
Box 9
Thomas Creek, Mt. Rose, NV - photographs
1934
Box 9
Tillamook, OR - Proposed National Seashore Recreation Area - photographs
1935
Box 5, Folder 14
Trails Report - Principles of Location, Design, Construction
1937
