Webster Knight’s office, or “The Knight Room” on the mezzanine, housed his personal library. Son of Robert Knight, Colonel Webster Knight (1854-1933), assumed major management responsibilities in the B. B. & R. Knight cotton manufacturing firm in 1898, and became senior partner in 1912. Webster Knight was very active in politics and held a number of state offices, and served on the Town Council in Warwick for 12 years. In 1920, when the Knight family sold their manufacturing interests to the Consolidated Textile Corporation of New York for $20 million, Webster Knight turned to farming and breeding livestock.
A stained glass rondel of a knight in armor on horseback is set in the central window of this office. Through the open window, Webster Knight would have been able to view his home at 118 Princeton Avenue, the Webster Knight House, which was built about 1897. One of the earliest and finest Colonial Revival residences in Providence, it was probably designed by the local firm of Angell & Swift.
In later years, Webster Knight’s Office was occupied by the senior librarian in charge of the library.
