Allen Knight

Allen Knight, (May 7, 1901 – August 24, 1964) was an American merchant seaman and political figure in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He is best known for his service on the Carmel City Council, including a two-year term as mayor, and for co-founding the Sundial Lodge. In 2016 the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association acquired the Allen Knight's maritime collection.

Early life
Knight was born on May 7, 1901, in San Francisco, California. His father was Allen Knight and his mother was Lily C. Knight. Knight's parents and his two unmarried aunts, Agnes and Alice Miller, purchased three lots on the intersection of Monte Verde Street 7th Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. On the property was a prefabricated cottage.

World War I and travels
Knight dedicated six years as a merchant seaman at sea before World War I, sailing on square-riggged vessels. Following a year of Davis College, part of the University of California, he returned to his first love, the sea, and pursued a career as a ship broker. He enlisted on the Falls of Clyde, a four-masted clipper ship, which lasted only three months but ignited an interest in everything nautical.

Carmel-by-the-Sea
Knight became a musician and bandleader, showcasing his piano skills for leisure or financial sustenance. He engaged with three amateur theater groups. He performed at the First Theater in Monterey and at the Forest Theater in Carmel. In January 1937 Knight and his orchestra performed during the inauguration of the "Valley Ranch Club," currently recognized as the Mission Ranch.

Sundial Lodge


In 1929, Knight got financial backing for the Sundial Lodge from Mary L. Hamlin and his aunt Alice "Alys" Miller on the property where Knight's parents and his two aunts had purchased three lots on Monte Verde Street and 7th Avenue. The design of the Sundial Lodge was inspired by Knight's visit to Europe in the late 1920s. He asked the owners of a Czechoslovakia hotel to share their blueprints, which he gave to San Francisco architect Albert L. Farr to design the three-story aparment building around an open courtyard. Knight commissioned Michael J. Murphy, who completed the construction on the property in 1930. The Sundial Lodge was Carmel's first apartment building. In 1929 the family cottage on Monte Verde and 7th was relocated north to Guadalupe Street and 6th Avenue to facilitate the construction of the Sundial Lodge.

The three partners collectively owned it, and Hamlin served as the initial president and manager. Hamlin managed the property through the challenges of the Great Depression and the early years of the World War I. The hotel officially opened on June 23, 1930, with an announcement in the Carmel Pine Cone saying: "Sundial Court Apartments ready June first on Monte Verde south of Ocean. Mrs. Mary L. Hamlin Manager."

The Ship


In 1936, Knight undertook a three-year initiative to construct a stone ship's cabin, next to his home on Guadalupe Street and 6th Avenue, for the purpose of preserving his maritime treasures. The stone edifice, reminiscent of a seafaring craft or "stone lighthouse," was crafted using water washed granite boulders, incorporating portholes and planks from the Aurora, Knight's own four-masted schooner that had run aground on Monterey Bay in 1932. The furniture, designed to withstand inclement weather, was repurposed from dismantled sailing ships that had met their fate along the shores of the Monterey Peninsula. The shelves and tables held an array of ship models with books, charts, and keepsakes.

By 1960, Allen's collection encompassed 9,000 ship photographs, 250 ship log books, ship registers going back to 1839, and 30 ship models.

World War II
In the years that followed, Knight transitioned into the role of a real estate broker in Monterey, assuming the role of president for the Monterey Realty board in both 1949 and 1953.

Politics
Knight had positions as a board member and president of the Monterey History and Art Association. He served for over ten years on the Carmel City Council on two separate occasions, during which he held the position of mayor from 1950 to 1952, and a member of the Carmel Police Commission. He helped in the establishment of the Carmel Planning Commission. Knight became a spokesperson for mental health and a member of the Carmel Sanitary Board for 23 years. He was also a director of the Carmel Boys' Club and the Navy League as vice president.

Death and legacy


Knight died at the Christian Science Hospital in San Francisco in August 24, 1964. Private funeral services were conducted in the Little Chapel-by-the-Sea with inurnment in Mission Memorial Park.

In 1966 Knight's wife Adele gave "The Ship" collection to the Monterey History & Art Association. In 1971, Knight's collection of artifacts and photographic archives served as the foundation for establishing the Allen Knight Maritime Museum. The museum was initially situated in the basement of the Monterey Museum of Art at 555 Calle Principal. After planning and fundraising, the new Museum of Monterey opened its doors on October 31, 1992 at the Monterey History and Art at Stanton Center in Monterey, California.

In 2016 the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association acquired the Allen Knight collection.