Treasure Island Museum Endorses “Emperor Norton Tunnel” Naming Proposal
Neighboring Institution Whose Historical and Educational Mission Includes Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge Sees Naming As a “Major Storytelling Opportunity for San Francisco and the Bay Area”
THE EMPEROR NORTON TRUST is pleased to announce that the Treasure Island Museum has issued a statement in support of the Trust's proposal that the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge tunnel through Yerba Buena Island, S.F., be named the
EMPEROR NORTON TUNNEL
Here is the statement (pdf):
Built as a landfill project in 1936–37 and originally conceived as the location of a future airport, Treasure Island began its life as the site of the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE), a World’s Fair held in two phases between February 1939 and September 1940.
Locally speaking, a key purpose of the Fair was to celebrate the recent openings of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in November 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in May 1937.
At the level of architectural history, Treasure Island — which is linked to Yerba Buena Island by a causeway — shares a significant connection to the Bay Bridge and its tunnel in the figure of San Francisco architect Timothy Pflueger (1892–1946).
For the GGIE, Pflueger designed the Federal Building (demolished immediately after the close of the Fair) in the then-new International Style.
A few years earlier, Pflueger chaired the 3-member Board of Consulting Architects for the Bay Bridge, where Pflueger’s most apparent contributions are (a) the design of the monumental towers for the bridge’s west (San Francisco) section and (b) the semicircular Art Deco-influenced portals that distinguish the upper deck of the bridge’s tunnel through Yerba Buena Island.
Treasure Island Museum board president Michael Hennahane writes:
The histories of Yerba Buena Island and the Bay Bridge are inextricably linked to the history of Treasure Island. The Treasure Island Museum long has considered its mission to include education about the history of the bridge....
In addition to his vision for a bridge via Yerba Buena Island, Emperor Norton distinguished himself across his 20-year "reign" as an early champion of the values of fairness, tolerance, self-determination, and the common good that came to be associated with his adopted city and region.
The Bay Bridge tunnel through Yerba Buena Island has never been officially named. Naming the tunnel after Emperor Norton would provide long overdue official recognition for his founding role in popularizing the vision for a bridge routed via the Island. And it would plant a flag for the San Francisco and Bay Area values he championed — values that ever are in need of being celebrated and defended.
With the 90th anniversary of the Bay Bridge coming up this November and ongoing efforts to reimagine Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island as residential and visitor destinations, the timing for an "Emperor Norton Tunnel" naming could not be better.
This naming represents a major storytelling opportunity for San Francisco and the Bay Area. The Treasure Island Museum looks forward to including a newly named “Emperor Norton Tunnel” as we work to preserve the legacy of these islands.
The Emperor Norton Trust is honored by the support of the Treasure Island Museum for our “Emperor Norton Tunnel” naming proposal.
This endorsement follows recent endorsements from:
San Francisco Historical Society
Imperial Council of San Francisco
Chinese Historical Society of America
Freedom From Religion Foundation (SF Bay Chapter)
California Lodge No. 1 of Free and Accepted Masons
The Trust looks forward to working with the Treasure Island Museum to make the Emperor Norton Tunnel a reality — and is grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Museum to forge a deeper public understanding of how the Emperor and his story connects to the history and identity of San Francisco and the Bay Area.
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