Emerson Knight, a California landscape architect, designed gardens and country estates in San Francisco and on the peninsula until the late 1920s when he traveled to Mexico to do studies for the Mexican National Highway Commission. Upon returning to the United States, Knight worked for the Save-The-Redwoods League, the Monterey City Planning Commission, the California State Park Commission, and the National Park Service. Knight designed a number of outdoor theaters including the Mountain Theater on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County.