A Closer Look at an Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt Medallion

June 14, 2022 / John Lumea

The Emperor Norton Treasure Hunts, produced by the San Francisco Chronicle between 1953 and 1962, loom large in modern Nortonian lore.

The central symbol and talisman of these treasure hunts is an elaborate 7” medallion. When winning competitors discovered and dug up a plastic version of this medallion, they were gifted with a keepsake bronze “original” that was struck by Shreve & Co., the legendary jeweler established in San Francisco in 1852.

But, it’s never been clear exactly what these medallions looked like — front and back — until now.

New close-up photographs of one of the original 1953 medallions is on the flip.

1 Likes

categories / Research, Projects, ARENA
tags / Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt, San Francisco Chronicle, Scott Newhall, medallion, Shreve & Co., Palace of Fine Arts, Tilden Park, Dan Sullivan, 1953

The Emperor Norton Rooms of 1961

February 12, 2019 / John Lumea

In spring 1961, two establishments opened in San Francisco.

One was a hotel bar on Geary Street. The other was a lunch spot and cocktail lounge on Maiden Lane.

Both were less than two blocks from Union Square.

One was created by a designer who went on to be celebrated in the pages of the Architectural Digest. It had an "Emperor Norton" doorman. And, per Herb Caen, it once was host to Jack Dempsey and Lefty O'Doul — sharing a bowl of peanuts on the same night.

The other was home to a new portrait of the Emperor commissioned by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Both were called the Emperor Norton Room.

Here’s the intriguing story of two Nortonian stars that briefly rose and just as quickly fell in the same San Francisco season.

0 Likes

categories / Original sources, Places, Legacy, Tributes, Research
tags / Emperor Norton Room, Hotel Stewart, Geary Street, In Between, Maiden Lane, Herb Caen, Jack Dempsey, Lefty O'Doul, William Weber, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, 1961, 1962, Harry Handlery, Handlery Hotels, Scott Newhall

The Emperor Norton Trust

Filtering by Tag: Scott Newhall

A Closer Look at an Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt Medallion

The Emperor Norton Rooms of 1961