The Emperor Norton Trust

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

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Filtering by Tag: Theodore Payne

This Prominent San Francisco Landmark Site Was Owned By the Future Emperor Norton

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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