| Allen Knight | |
| Birth Date: | May 7, 1901 |
| Birth Place: | San Francisco, California, US |
| Death Place: | San Francisco, California, US |
| Known For: | Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |
| Occupation: | Businessman politician |
| Spouse: | |
| Office: | 17th Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea |
| Term Start: | 1950 |
| Term End: | 1952 |
| Predecessor: | Frederick M. Godwin |
| Successor: | Horace D. Lyon |
| Signature: | Allen Knight Signature.jpg |
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.
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,[1] purchased three lots on the intersection of Monte Verde Street 7th Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.[2]
Knight was a merchant seaman for six years before World War I, sailing on square-riggged vessels. At the age of seventeen during World War I Knight enlisted as a merchant seaman on the Falls of Clyde, a four-masted clipper ship en route from San Francisco to Honolulu.[3]
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 Sundial Lodge was Carmel's first apartment building.[4] 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.[5]
In 1936, Knight had a stone ship's cabin, built next to his home on Guadalupe Street and 6th Avenue, to store his ship models.[5] The stone edifice was built 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.[5] By 1960, Allen's collection encompassed 9,000 ship photographs, 250 ship log books, ship registers going back to 1839, and 30 ship models.
Knight held 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.[6]
Knight died in San Francisco in August 24, 1964.[7] [8]
In 1966 Knight's wife Adele donated "The Ship" collection to the Monterey History & Art Association. In 1971,[5] the objects were stored in the basement of the Monterey Museum of Art.[9] In 2016 the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association acquired the Allen Knight collection.[10]