ABOUT :: Press
Selected press coverage, interviews, write-ups and citations of projects and research from The Emperor Norton Trust (previously known as The Emperor's Bridge Campaign):
THE EMPEROR NORTON TRUST
24 Jul 2024
CLOG: Tech, San Francisco, Other Stuff (blog of Clay Smith)
“With the help of local historians I became more familiar with gold rush era San Francisco. John Lumea of the Emperor Norton Trust, the world’s foremost expert on Norton, sent me several helpful emails, and [Trust advisory member] Taryn Edwards of the Mechanics’ Institute (where the real Norton was a member) shared a reading list with a warning: San Francisco history is rife with lore and legend.”
18 Sep 2023
SFist
More coverage of the “Emperor Norton Place” celebration
17 Sep 2023
San Francisco Chronicle
Emperor Norton Gets a Street Named After Him in the
Financial District, Where He Once Reigned
The Emperor Norton Trust helped the City of San Francisco plan
the event reported here — the official dedication and celebration of
“Emperor Norton Place” as the City’s commemorative name for the
600 block of Commercial Street.
13 Apr & 8 May 2023
Hoodline
Emperor Norton Will Get a Street Named After Him in Chinatown (13 Apr)
The Renamed Emperor Norton Street Sign Is Now Up in Chinatown (8 May)
Includes research, photographs and quotes from The Emperor Norton Trust
7 Apr 2023
The San Francisco Standard
Emperor Norton, One of SF’s Most Beloved Eccentric
Visionaries, To Be Honored With Street Renaming
Article on San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution to add ”Emperor
Norton Place” as a commemorative name for the 600 block of Commercial
Street. Includes recognition for The Emperor Norton Trust’s decade-long
civic naming and research enterprise on behalf of the Emperor.
9 Mar 2023
San Francisco Magazine
15 Behind-the-Scenes Facts You Didn’t Know About the Ferry Building
Fact #3 includes a link to our November 2022 article about the Ferry Building.
6 Jan 2023
Jamie Zawinski
The Pro-Vaccination Emperor of 1869
Item on Emperor Norton Trust discovery of what appears to be the
first Proclamation of the Emperor published in an Oakland paper.
17 Sep 2022
In Newest Days
“An Emperor Among Us”? Emperor Norton’s Religious Utopianism
“The folks over at The Emperor Norton Trust have done good work in recent
years to promote and popularize something that Emperor aficionados have
always known: Emperor Norton, whether or not he really fancied himself a
monarch, possessed an astute mind and promoted a remarkably progressive
political and social program.”
1 Sep 2022
San Francisco Chronicle
The Case for “Frisco”: History Weighs In on S.F.’s Controversial Nickname
Chronicle columnist Peter Hartlaub cites The Emperor Norton Trust as his
example of “modern Norton scholars” and links to the Trust’s umbrella page
for its research into “Frisco”
22 Jul 2022
NBC Bay Area
150 Years Ago, Emperor Norton Called for a Bridge Now Known as the Bay Bridge
Television news segment and article featuring interview clips of Emperor Norton Trust
founder John Lumea and Trust advisor Taryn Edwards
27 Jun 2022
California Freemason
In Emperor Norton, A Legacy Lives On
Feature on 150th anniversary of the Emperor’s “bridge Proclamations” in
Summer 2022 issue of official magazine of the Grand Lodge of California
31 May 2022
The Frisc
Local Rocker Chuck Prophet and Friends Recast
Their Classic SF Love Letter As Musical Theater
Link love: Immediately above the second photograph is (1) a link to the Trust’s
biographical essay on the Emp and (2) a link to Atlas Obscura's article about
our interactive, annotated Emperor Norton Map of the World.
22 May 2022
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
San Francisco’s Emperor Norton
In this issue of the NBS newletter, Trust founder John Lumea provides
an invited fact check offering notes on several undocumented
biographical claims about the Emperor submitted by a reader.
Issue also includes a separate feature about Lumea’s article
unpacking one of the claims in greater detail.
19 Jul 2021
Broke-Ass Stuart
16 May 2021
The Daily Beast
Norton I Declared Himself Emperor of the United States, And
His Subjects Loved It
24 Feb 2021
Constant Wonder
San Francisco’s Self-Proclaimed Emperor of the United States
BYU Radio program talks to Emperor Norton Trust founder John Lumea in
this wide-ranging 27-minute audio conversation that summarizes the life and
influence of the Emperor and the Trust’s work to advance the Emperor’s legacy.
3 Oct 2020
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle Columnist Gary Kamiya Cites Emperor Norton Trust
In Correction on “Frisco”
Journalist, author and historian Kamiya cites Emperor Norton Trust founder John Lumea
as the authority for saying that “no primary documents have been found to support [the]
claim” that Emperor Norton imposed a $25 fine for using the word “Frisco.”
15 Sep 2020
Broke-Ass Stuart
Emperor Norton and the 1860s Black Activism Movement
“Our frequent celebrations and homages to [Emperor Norton] often leave out the
Emperor’s well-documented use of his popularity and platform to insist on equality,
civil rights and expanded legal protections for Black people in post-Civil War America.”
20 April 2020
Jamie Zawinski
Item flagging Emperor Norton Trust research into “four artifacts
of mid-20th century ‘Norton culture.’”
April 2020
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
Summary: Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt (19 April)
See under Loose Change
Grand Order of the West Knight Companion Medal (12 April)
See under Notes from E-Sylum Readers
The 1953 Emperor Norton Medals (5 April)
20 Feb 2020
KALW
Long Live the Emperor: The Weird Tale of San Francisco’s Most Beloved Eccentric
39-minute documentary/podcast in the Crosscurrents series
THE EMPEROR'S BRIDGE CAMPAIGN
Organizational predecessor, 2013—2019, to The Emperor Norton Trust
31 Oct 2019
SFist
Emperor Norton Bar Buys Emperor Norton Bond, Which Is Worth $15,000
"The bill’s authenticity has been verified, thanks to the efforts of The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign.”
25 Oct 2019
NBC Bay Area
San Francisco Bar Owner Discovers 141-Year-Old Bond
Issued by Emperor Joshua Norton
14 July 2019
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
When Was the First Emperor Norton Scrip Issued?
“New research has revealed a reference to what
could be the earliest Emperor Norton bonds.”
3 Mar 2019
San Francisco Examiner
Altered History: A New Suit for an Old Emperor
Profile of Campaign founder John Lumea. Reflecting on his Norton research,
Lumea observes that “the accuracies are often more fascinating than the myth.”
14 Dec 2018
The Attic
The Attic is the writing space of award-winning journalist and author, Bruce Watson.
13 Nov 2018
SF Weekly
1 Oct 2018
Heritage Auctions
Auction Listing for Emperor Norton Note Signed and Dated 10 July 1878
See description for citation of John Lumea’s May 2017
article, “Notes on His Majesty’s Printers.”
This note sold at the advertised 7–10 November 2018 auction for $8,520.
28 May 2018
Ozy
25 Mar 2018
Ossurworld
Emperor Norton’s Bridge: TV in 1956!
Ossurworld is the website of writer William Russo, who was a longtime
friend and collaborator of the actor Jan Merlin (1925–2019). Merlin played
Bret Harte in “Emperor Norton’s Bridge,” the 1956 Telephone Time episode
that is based on the Emperor’s story. (View the episode here.)
1 Mar 2018
KQED
America's Emperor, San Francisco's Treasure: Who Was Emperor Norton? (alternative link)
Episode in the Bay Curious series: 12-minute podcast + companion article.
6 Feb 2018
Curbed SF
San Francisco City Hall Turns Gold to Remember Emperor Norton
5 Feb 2018
Jamie Zawinski
It Is Emperor Norton Month, By Proclamation
of the SF Board of Supervisors
Item on Proclamation presented by San Francisco District 3 Supervisor
Aaron Peskin during event at Comstock Saloon on Emperor Norton’s
200th birthday, 4 February 2018.
2 Feb 2018
San Francisco Chronicle
City to Celebrate Emperor Norton's 200th Birthday
“He was a beloved character,” said [Emperor's Bridge Campaign president] John Lumea,
who has emerged as the emperor’s modern spokesman. “He was a genuinely kind person,
well read and well spoken. He knew his place in the city, and he knew his limits. The others
faded away, but his story has lasted.”
4 Feb 2018
CBS SF Bay Area
2 Feb 2018
NBC Bay Area
San Francisco Prepares to Mark the 200th Birthday of Emperor Norton
1 Feb 2018
SF Weekly
"The social justice [aspect] is an overdue course correction to understanding what
he was really all about," [Emperor's Bridge Campaign president John] Lumea says."
22 Oct 2017
KQED
3 Oct 2017
Los Angeles Times
San Francisco's Bay Bridge Now Outshines the Golden Gate After Dark
See text link "Some people" in Emperor Norton passage.
22 Sep 2017
Reason
17 Jul 2017
SFist
Emperor Norton Paid Homage With Interactive Map of His Life
"It's called the Emperor Norton Map of the World, and...it really
does cover the world....If you're a fan you really should read the
locations' write-ups, which are quite lengthy and detailed."
10 Jul 2017
Atlas Obscura
A New Map Tracks the Life of San Francisco's Emperor Norton
"The Emperor's Bridge Campaign...has created a comprehensive map
of [Emperor Norton's] San Francisco, which includes...44 delightfully
detailed entries on everything from the Mechanics' Institute, where
the Emperor played chess, to the amusement park where he was
denied access to the roller skating rink."
7 May 2017
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
Notes on Emperor Norton’s Printers
“John Lumea has written a new article focusing on the printers
of Emperor Norton’s scrip and his relationships with them.”
1 May 2017
San Francisco Chronicle
True or False? All the Myths and Urban Legends in Bay Area History
Slideshow article. Links opens to slide whose description includes
a link to the Campaign's February 2016 article on the anti-"Frisco
proclamation often attributed to Emperor Norton.
13 Feb 2016
KQED
KQED Field Trip: Early San Francisco Images, Maps & Links
The Emperor's Bridge Campaign is under "Online articles."
Feb 2016
Dave Gilson
Gilson is deputy editor of Mother Jones magazine. This “timeline of San Francisco’s
love-hate relationship with ‘Frisco,’” which appears on Gilson’s personal site, is a more
highly illustrated and detailed version of his piece that appeared in the magazine in
January 2016 (see immediately below).
See “Emperor Strikes Back” text box: “John Lumea of The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign
has written the definitive account of the phony decree.”
29 Jan 2016
Mother Jones
Why San Francisco's "Frisco" Debate Will Never, Ever Die
See the text link "likely apocryphal" in the "Emperor strikes back" section.
13 Aug 2015
Wall Street Journal
In San Francisco, Subjects Still Long for Ersatz Emperor of Yore
"...the boldest efforts to honor the Emperor: The Emperor's Bridge Campaign."
21 Aug 2015
Hoodline
Emperor Norton-Centric Nonprofit Launches Kickstarter Campaign, Special Tour
3 May 2015
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
Emperor Norton’s Proclamation and Seal
“John Lumea wrote about some curious (unfortunately lost)
material in his blog post this week.”
11 Nov 2014
SF Weekly
The Emperor's Bridge Campaign Is Now a Nonprofit *
* Article illustration not associated with the Campaign.
4 Dec 2013
7x7
Raise a Tannenbaum Toast with Emperor Norton (2nd item)
27 Nov 2013
San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Emperor’s Bridge Campaign mastermind John Lumea sees it this way: If the bridge naming
simply must go forward as a matter of politics, why not tweak it slightly? Then, motorists
could drive over ‘the Willie L. Brown, Jr., Crossing…of the Emperor Norton Bridge.’”
CHANGE.org PETITION
To ADD “Emperor Norton Bridge” as an HONORARY name for
the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (launched 1 August 2013
and still live at more than 6,600 signatures)
20 Oct 2013
San Francisco Chronicle
Wide Range of Causes Use Online Petitions
"[Petition author John] Lumea's timing was impeccable. The petition went up
Aug. 2...just as the California Legislature discussed naming the western span after
Willie Brown. Media outlets quickly jumped on the story; social media, especially
Twitter, caught fire. He now has more than 4,400 signatures."
11 Sep 2013
Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown Opposes Bid to Name Bay Bridge After Willie Brown
22 Aug 2013
San Jose Mercury News
Move Afoot to Honor Historic S.F. Eccentric
"'The response has been overwhelming,' says writer John Lumea, who
created the petition. 'But what's been most moving are the comments
people are leaving. He still touches people's hearts, all these years later.'"
13 Aug 2013
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Petition to Name Bay Bridge After Emperor Norton Gains 1,000 Signatures
Archived at 48 Hills.
"Nothing personal against [Willie] Brown, says [petition author John] Lumea.
He just believes that honor belongs instead to 19th-century San Francisco
eccentric Joshua Abraham Norton."
13 Aug 2013
Raw Story
Petition to Name San Francisco's Bay Bridge After Emperor Norton Gains Support
"'Although Emperor Norton is identified as a San Francisco figure, his
proclamations calling for a cross-Bay bridge embodied a profound recognition
that Oakland needed San Francisco — and that San Francisco needed Oakland,'
[petition author John] Lumea wrote."
7 Aug 2013
Jamie Zawinski
7 Aug 2013
Laughing Squid
Petition Calls for San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to be Named After Emperor Norton
