In 1852, Joshua Norton bought a well-situated piece of San Francisco property that remained vacant for more than two decades — but that, a year after his death, became the landmark site that it remains 145 years later.
Joshua owned the property for only a few months. But, the timing of the purchase; the auctioneer; the future owners; the proximity to his funeral site; and the monumental buildings that rose here may imbue the land with more significance than any other acreage that Joshua purchased at the height of his prosperity.
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In 1959, "the Society of California Pioneers in cooperation with the San Francisco Chronicle" proposed an Emperor Norton memorial plaque at the intersection of California Street and Grant Avenue — where the Emperor collapsed and died on 8 January 1880. A design for the plaque was created by Hubert Buel, the Chronicle's art director. Indeed, the design and text for the plaque were approved by resolution of the San Francisco Arts Commission on 1 June 1959.
And yet, today, there is no Emperor Norton plaque at California and Grant. In fact, it appears that the project never made it before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — which typically would have to have given final approval for a project like this in order for it to move forward.
How did an Emperor Norton plaque with the collaborative backing of two storied institutions like the Society of California Pioneers and the San Francisco Chronicle get pushed off the tracks — and who did the job?
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