RECENT RESEARCH — A newly unearthed photograph showing the north side of the 600 block of Commercial Street, San Francisco, in the aftermath of the earthquake and fires of 1906 reveals, for the first time, visual evidence of the fate of the building that housed the Eureka Lodgings, where Emperor Norton lived from 1864–65 until his death in 1880. Our analysis of the photo sharpens the focus on the identities and locations of the buildings along this stretch — and exactly what each building suffered in 1906. Includes our highly researched new infographic that can be used as a tool for understanding the history of this location.

The Emperor Norton Trust

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

RESEARCH • EDUCATION • ADVOCACY

ARENA | Archive of Emperor Norton in Art, Music & Film

Detail of a comic, 1871, that appeared in the California Mail Bag magazine. Source: Internet Archive.

Detail of a comic, 1871, that appeared in the California Mail Bag magazine. Source: Internet Archive.

As part of its mission to advance the legacy of Emperor Norton, The Emperor Norton Trust (previously The Emperor's Bridge Campaign) long has been interested in the variety of ways in which the Emperor has been taken up as a muse for art. 

To engage others in this aspect of our mission, we are creating a comprehensive, authoritative, searchable digital archive of representations and interpretations of Emperor Norton in the visual arts, in music and in film — the mediums that are most readily presented online. We are calling this archive...

ARENA: The ARchive of Emperor Norton in Art, Music & Film.  


The "holy grail" of Searchability will come later.

For now, we just want to begin putting what we've  learned under one roof — in the Arena, as it were — so that others can start using it too. And there's quite a lot of stuff in here!

Click on the following to check out our sections on...


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Permissions and attribution

Unless otherwise noted, all research published via this digital ARchive of Emperor Norton in Art, Music & Film (ARENA) was conducted and written by John Lumea for The Emperor Norton Trust. Creators in any medium who wish to quote, adapt or otherwise use this research in any published work that draws on this research must secure permission from the Trust and provide appropriate attribution in the work. For further information, please contact us.


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