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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Next year is the 200th anniversary of Emperor Norton's birth on 4 February 2018. And, we can't think of a better bicentennial birthday present than — finally! — naming the Emperor's bridge for the Emperor!
But, making this a possibility means that three groups of people — (1) state legislators, the ones who would have to authorize "Emperor Norton Bridge" as a parallel / honorary name for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; (2) those in local and state government and media who have influence with these elected officials; and (3) the close friends of all these people — need to hear from California supporters of the Emperor Norton Bridge naming — and hear from them a lot! — between now and early 2018.
To assist California supporters with this outreach, The Emperor's Bridge Campaign has prepared a model letter that includes all the key messages that the Campaign has been using to advocate on this issue.
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The Emperor's Bridge Campaign proposes that the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge be additionally named for Emperor Norton in 2022 — the 150th anniversary of when Emperor Norton set out the original vision for the Bay Bridge in 1872. On 10 May 2016, Campaign president John Lumea sent to Campaign supporters and followers a letter outlining the bridge-naming proposal and options for pushing it forward.
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Might an elder statesman of San Francisco and California state politics take one more run at Sacramento and use the opportunity to make a bold and elegant gesture?
Hmmmm . . .
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