The Emperor Norton Trust

ABOUT :: FAQs

FAQs, Or, An Imaginary Conversation

Q Are you still the “Emperor Norton Bridge” people?

A After 9 years, we’ve shifted our focus to a different landmark. But, we still are working towards getting the Emperor’s name on something big. Much else besides!

(And answers to other of your burning questions about The Emperor Norton Trust — previously The Emperor's Bridge Campaign.)

Q How and when did The Emperor Norton Trust get started? 

A In August 2013, San Francisco writer John Lumea published a Change.org petition to name the Bay Bridge as a whole for Emperor Norton. The petition has been covered by SFist, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Bay Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, KQED, and Laughing Squid.

To capitalize on this energy and interest — and to carry forward the petition’s call — The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign launched in late September 2013.

Q What have you been up to since then?

A The Campaign quickly built out a broader cultural and historical mission that included the bridge-naming project but that was organized around a variety of efforts — research, education, advocacy — to honor the life and advance the full legacy of Emperor Norton.

On the second Sunday of December 2013, at the historic House of Shields bar, we instituted the First Annual Tannenbaum Toast — a holiday party to celebrate the legend that credits Emperor Norton with calling for the great Christmas Tree that is raised in Union Square every year. We later learned that he didn’t. No matter! We returned to The House of Shields for holiday Toasts every second Sunday of December through 2019, and we look forward to hosting another live Tannenbaum Toast there soon.

In 2014, the first calendar year after the Campaign launched in September 2013, we spent much of our time laying the groundwork to incorporate as a nonprofit — which we did in October 2014.

That year, we held a number of public events that celebrated the Emperor's various Proclamations of 1872 setting out the vision for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

But already we had begun to think of our project to name the Bay Bridge for Emperor Norton as a catalyst for a larger, more ambitious enterprise.

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In 2015, the Campaign identified a number of long-term Projects. We pushed forward with original Research in a variety of areas. And we began to offer a wider range of educational programming (including Chamber Talks and Field Talks) and commemorative gatherings — all of which you can find via our Events page.

The Campaign also instituted two more new Nortonian holidays — in addition to the Tannenbaum Toast:

We launched the celebration of Emperor Norton’s birthday on the anniversary of his historical birth date, 4 February 1818 — using our own original research to make the strong case for this date.

And, we created Empire Day to mark the anniversary of the date — 17 September 1859 — when Joshua Norton publicly declared himself Emperor by hand delivering his original Proclamation to the Montgomery Street office of the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin.

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In 2016 and 2017, we continued research for our book of selected Proclamations of Emperor Norton — a project sparked by a seed grant from the San Francisco Historical Association. 

We also built and developed online educational tools that illustrate our interest and expertise in both the Emperor's biographical history and his cultural legacy:

• Our Emperor Norton Map of the World is an historically annotated and illustrated, chronologically indexed interactive map of places where Joshua Norton lived, worked and visited both before and after he declared himself Emperor.

• ARENA, our digital ARchive of Emperor Norton in Art, Music & Film, shows the great variety of ways in which the Emperor has been taken up as a muse for art from 1861.

In July 2016, the Campaign was honored with the 2016 Ron Ross Founder's Award from the San Francisco History Association.

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In 2018, The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign led San Francisco’s celebration of the Emperor’s 200th birthday. In partnership with leading cultural institutions, the Campaign produced Emperor Norton at 200, a 6-week series of exhibitions, talks and other special events.

Partner institutions included the California Historical Society, the Mechanics’ Institute, the San Francisco Public Library and the Society of California Pioneers.

At the Campaign’s request, the City of San Francisco lit two of its signature landmarks — City Hall and Coit Tower — in gold, on the bicentennial of February 4th.

Q You’re no longer known as The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign, though?

A In December 2019, the Campaign adopted a new name that better reflects the full range of our interests and activities — and that better positions us to realize our goal of being recognized as the leading public resource on Emperor Norton:

THE EMPEROR NORTON TRUST.

In February 2020, after living in San Francisco for ten years, founder John Lumea relocated to Boston. Lumea repositioned the Trust towards being a “sole proprietorship in the public interest.” Nonprofit in spirit and in practice, the Trust is led by Lumea and supported by a select group of Advisors.

In March 2020, The Library of Congress, at the request of The Emperor Norton Trust, updated its information for Emperor Norton, changing the Emperor’s birth year from 1819 to 1818 and adding 4 February 1818 as the birth date.

Q So, The Emperor Norton Trust is not solely about naming the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for Emperor Norton?

A In fact: In late 2022 — after 9 years of working on this issue and continuing to be met with official resistance — the Trust decided to close its petition at 6,700 signatures and set aside the project of naming the Bay Bridge in favor of a new, San Francisco-based focus on an equally prominent landmark that we hope will be more readily named:

The San Francisco Ferry Building opened in 1898 and turned 125 in 2023.

This year, 2024, marks the 175th anniversary of Joshua Norton’s arrival in San Francisco.

We are urging San Francisco decision makers to designate “EMPEROR NORTON TOWER” as the name of the Ferry Building clock tower in 2024.

For details of our new proposal, visit EmperorNortonTower.org and click Learn More.

More important:

Although, for many, the bridge naming has been the Trust’s signature project — our "calling card," if you will…

The bridge-naming project has been an emblem of a larger mission that includes historical research and documentation; public education; cultural visioning; and advocacy related to the Emperor.

In our previous incarnation as The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign, we liked to say that the bridge-naming project was a "campaign within the Campaign" to enhance and preserve the memory and appreciation of the Emperor's life and legacy, more broadly considered.

The Emperor Norton Trust seeks to be recognized as the leading public resource on Emperor Norton — and we are building out this vision by conducting and publishing original Research; offering educational and commemorative programming (see our Events page); and advancing longer-term Projects on a variety of fronts. 

To advance our mission, the Trust sponsors and supports a variety of efforts to ensure that Emperor Norton is even better-known and -loved in his adopted home of San Francisco and the Bay Area — and that he is embraced everywhere as a key herald and symbol of the spirit of progressivism, whimsy and humanity for which this city and region so long have been celebrated.

Q What about that proclamation censuring and imposing a penalty for use of the word "Frisco"? Did Emperor Norton really write that?

A It appears not. 

Q Where is Emperor Norton buried? Is it possible to visit his grave?

A In 1934, as part of San Francisco's great cemetery eviction, the Emperor’s remains were moved from his original resting place in the city's Masonic Cemetery to Woodlawn Cemetery in the town of Colma, a few miles to the south of San Francisco. A public ceremony to mark the occasion included full civic and military honors and the placement of a new headstone.

Those who are inspired by Emperor Norton and his story make pilgrimages to his gravesite all year round — especially on or around 8 January, the anniversary of his death, which many recognize as Emperor Norton Day.

The red pin here marks the site of the Emperor's grave within Woodlawn cemetery. (Disregard the address on the pin.)

Q Does Emperor Norton have any surviving family members?

A As far as we know, the Emperor never had any children of his own — but several of his many siblings did. So far, the Trust has been in touch with 20 of Emperor Norton's family members. Many of these are his 4x-great nieces and nephews. Most of them are in South Africa, where the Emperor moved (from England) with his parents and two brothers when he was two years old — and which remained a Norton family stronghold. Others are in Namibia, Australia, Canada and Trinidad and Tobago. One who was born in South Africa now lives in Washington State.

Q What’s next for the Trust?

A For a few years now, we’ve been developing a compilation album of “Emperor songs” — songs about, or in some way inspired by, Emperor Norton. We plan to release the album in a limited edition of 300 — a vinyl LP of 8-10 tracks packaged together with an “extended album” mp3 of 16 tracks.

Crowdfunding begins soon — and, we hope to release the album in 2025.

You can learn more via EmperorSongs.org.

Q What’s the best way to keep in touch with the Trust’s progress and learn about upcoming events?

A Most important: Sign up here.

Also: Join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Q I’d like to contribute a viewpoint explaining why I think Emperor Norton is important and why I support the Trust. Do you have an outlet for that?

A Yes! Our Perspectives series. If you have an idea for an “editorial” of 500-1,000 words; for a poem; or for a piece of op-art (graphic art, cartoon, photograph, video), please send us your proposal here, or drop a line to John Lumea at john@EmperorNortonTrust.org.

Q I’d like to become involved in the work of the Trust. I also have a suggestion or two (or five). How do I get in touch?

A We’d love to hear from you! Send us a note via the Trust’s website.

Or drop a line to founder John Lumea at john@EmperorNortonTrust.org.