CCRI moves to the Knight Estate in Warwick
Royal Webster Knight, great grandson of Robert Knight of the famous B.
B. & R. Knight Company and owner of the Pontiac Mill, gave eighty
acres of his property in the Natick section of Warwick to the State of
Rhode Island for a junior college campus in October 1964. This land,
which included his large Federal and Greek Revival home and a number of
excellent farm buildings, became the nucleus of the Knight Campus of
Rhode Island Junior College (now the Community College of Rhode Island).
A much needed Junior College
An Act of the General Assembly had created the school in 1960 and
called for an opening class of 200. When the school opened in 1964, it
was housed in makeshift quarters at 199 Promenade Street in the old
Brown & Sharpe complex in Providence. According to a special 25th
anniversary report of the college, there were so many applications that
"Governor John Chafee permitted the expansion of the initial enrollment
to 325. By the time the new campus was opened in Warwick in September
1972, the college enrollment was over 3,000. Today, thirty-six years
later, the school has an enrollment of over 15,000.
The college megastructutre
Ground breaking for the building of the main building on the Knight
campus began in 1969. The site selected was a hilltop with a commanding
view of the malls and the highways. The Rhode Island Historical
Preservation Commission Report K W 1 notes that it was decided to build
a structure that would accommodate "all academic, social, and
recreational functions under one roof." The result is described by the
Commission Report as, "An enormous, flat roofed concrete megastructure
with semicircular terminus and twin cylindrical skylight funnels set on
a hilltop site and ranging in height from four to six stories."
The report elaborates by saying; "Offices, classrooms, and workshops
are gathered around a large, multi story interior courtyard and lecture
halls and a library are included in a semi detached cylindrical section
separated from the main block by a road passing through the mass of the
building." The building was designed by Perkins and Will Partnership of
White Plains, New York, in conjunction with the Providence firms of
Harkness and Geddes and Robinson Green Beretta. The design was strongly
influenced, the report notes, "by the work of the famous modern
architect Le Corbusier and has been reviewed extensively by
international critics...."
The Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission Report K W 1
concludes by calling it one of the most striking and innovative
contemporary structures in the state. It says that due to its location,
it is a prominent landmark as it is visible from Interstate Highways I
95 and I 295, as well as from the surrounding area.
A multi-purpose school
In 1978, Edward J. Liston became the second president of Rhode Island
Junior College and moved into the home on the former Knight Estate.
Under his leadership, courses for college credit were offered at off
campus locations and community services offerings were expanded. In
1980, the name of the college was changed to Community College of Rhode
Island to "reflect the true meaning of the institution". According to
the special 25th anniversary report, the Knight campus has increased
from the original eighty acres to two hundred and five acres and
includes "a modern field house, track, basketball courts, indoor tennis
courts, a modern dance studio and a fully equipped weight room..."
A lasting reminder of times past
The Community College has been successful in maintaining the lovely old
house and the farm buildings. The peace and quiet that emanates from
the stonewalls and old buildings provides a calm oasis amidst the
hustle and bustle of modern traffic and trade. The Knights contributed
a great deal to industry and commerce during their time, and in this
estate on East Avenue, they managed to preserve a fine reminder that
Warwick was once an agricultural community. In preserving a portion of
this estate as a residence for its president, the Community College has
made a positive contribution to keeping our heritage. The present
president of CCRI, Ray M. DiPasquale and his staff are devoted to the
task of preserving this wonderful site for future generations to enjoy
and to learn from.
One of the accomplishments of the CCRI staff under the leadership of
Lynn M. Halmi has been in restoring this 19th century carriage. This is
one of the number of accomplishments that is making the “Knight Estate”
one of Rhode Island’s most rewarding historical sites.