Knight Memorial Library, designed by the famed New York architect, Edward S. Tilton, opened on May 14, 1924. Set well back from the street, the library is built in Italian Renaissance style. The imposing structure is constructed from Indiana limestone, set on a high granite basement and entered through an arched portal at the head of a grand staircase. The massive main doors, featuring elaborate bronze work, were made by the Mueller Metal Company of Providence. Its copper-clad hip roof, with imperial Spanish green tiles, has an ornamental cresting of Greek acroteria. The cornice below the roof features triglyphs and there are quoins on the corners of the building.
This lavish and imposing structure, built to house the Elmwood Public Library Association, was given in memory of Robert and Josephine Louisa. Webster Knight by their children, Edith Knight, Webster Knight, Clinton Prescott Knight, and Sophie Knight Rousmaniere. At the time Knight Memorial was built, Elmwood was a prosperous part of the city of Providence and many of its large Victorian homes still stand today in two historic districts. In fact, the land on which Knight Memorial Library stands was part of an estate owned by the Knight family, who were wealthy industrialists and mill owners. Robert Knight’s mansion, which once stood next door to the library, was demolished in 1963, but the house of Webster Knight, one of Robert’s sons, still stands on Princeton Avenue.
The Elmwood neighborhood was also home to Gorham Manufacturing, internationally famous for their work with silver, employing many workers in the immediate area. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century were prosperous times for Providence, attracting many immigrants and newcomers in search of employment and opportunity. Knight Memorial Library is a testament to this economic era in Rhode Island.
We would like to thank Providence Community Library.
