The Emperor Norton Trust

TO HONOR THE LIFE + ADVANCE THE LEGACY OF JOSHUA ABRAHAM NORTON

RESEARCH • EDUCATION • ADVOCACY

Filtering by Tag: 1990

Emperor Norton’s Residence, the Eureka Lodgings, Was Not Located (Exactly) Where You Think It Was

Over the last 25 years or so, a consensus has emerged among those attuned to San Francisco history — and particularly among Nortonophiles — that the former site of the Eureka Lodgings — where Emperor Norton is documented to have lived between 1864/1865 and his death in 1880 — is the privately owned public open space (POPOS) known as Empire Park, located at 642 Commercial Street between Montgomery and Kearny Streets.

That's been the consensus.

But, a careful analysis of two key bodies of evidence — (1) photographs of this stretch of Commercial Street taken between 1877 and 1906, and (2) Sanborn fire insurance and official San Francisco block (property) maps from the generation or two before and after the earthquake and fires of 1906 — reveal the Empire Park designation to be mistaken.

The Eureka Lodgings was located on Commercial Street between Montgomery and Kearny — just not on that site.

In the attached deeply researched and documented — and extensively illustrated — article, I provide:

1) Confirmation — for the first time, I believe — of the visual ID of the Eureka Lodgings building, using photographs from during and after Emperor Norton's lifetime. (Don’t miss the fabulous detail in these new hi-res scans from 1878, c.1892–94 and 1906 — worth the price of admission!)

2) A new location for the former site of the Eureka that better accords with the historical record.

It's a deep dive — so, pull up a chair!

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The "Emperor Norton" Disappeared from the Ghirardelli Menu a Decade Earlier Than Believed

In the 17 years since the San Francisco Chronicle noted in 2004 that the Emperor Norton Sundae no longer was on the menu at the Ghirardelli ice cream shop in San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square, the conventional wisdom has held that 2004 was when the “Emperor Norton” was removed.

But, I always have pointed out that 2004 is when the absence was noticed and reported as news — the removal itself could have happened earlier.

Turns out I was right. But, the cherry on top may be that the Emperor Norton Sundae has been hiding in plain sight at Ghirardelli — under a different name — for 20-plus years.

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Emperor Norton Days, 1989

Exactly 30 years ago — in mid-July 1989 — there was a big carnival in Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. There was a midway with games. Some 25 “giant” rides. Sideshows. Food. There were concerts at night.

This was a big deal! It was called Emperor Norton Days.

The carnival was slated for Thursday 13 July to Sunday 16 July 1989 — but, it was so popular, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors granted an extension for the following weekend, from Thursday the 20th to Sunday the 23rd.

Although there were plans for a second Emperor Norton Days, in July 1990, it appears that the carnival might have had only the one run, in 1989.

Were you there?

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