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

EMPEROR NORTON  ::  Original Research & Commentary

Since late 2014, Emperor Norton Trust founder John Lumea has written and published 196 articles of original research on various aspects of the Emperor’s life and legacy. And, he has produced numerous other historical resources — an interactive map (link); an art archive (link); talks — and commentaries on these subjects.

Below are links to the most recent 30 research articles — followed by a listing of links to all the commentaries — published via the Trust’s blog.

For links to the last 100 research articles, see under “Research” in our general blog archive.

A complete listing of all 211 (current total) research articles and research-related news items is here.

Permissions and attribution

Unless otherwise noted, all research published in articles via The Emperor Norton Trust’s blog 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.

SEARCH OUR BLOG…


ORIGINAL RESEARCH

RESEARCH SPONSOR

The research enterprise of The Emperor Norton Trust initially was made possible, in part, by a seed grant in the form of a 2015 Research Gift from the San Francisco History Association.

 

COMMENTARY

© 2025 The Emperor Norton Trust  |  Site design: Alisha Lumea  |  Background: Original image courtesy of Erica Fischer