Historians of San Francisco Urge Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to Back "Emperor Norton Bridge"
NEWS RELEASE
HISTORIANS OF SAN FRANCISCO URGE FORMER SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR WILLIE BROWN TO SUPPORT “EMPEROR NORTON BRIDGE” AS AN HONORARY NAME FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO–OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE
SAN FRANCISCO — 2 June 2022
At the end of May 2022, eight historians of San Francisco sent a letter to former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown urging the Mayor to publicly support The Emperor Norton Trust’s proposal that the California state legislature pass a joint resolution that simply would add “Emperor Norton Bridge” as an honorary name for the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge — leaving in place all existing names and signage for the bridge and its parts, including the “Willie L. Brown, Jr., Bridge” honorific for the West Crossing of the bridge.
The historians joined the Trust’s call that state lawmakers authorize the “Emperor Norton Bridge” naming in 2022 — the 150th anniversary of Emperor Norton’s three newspaper Proclamations setting out the vision for the Bay Bridge in 1872.
The Proclamations were published in the Black-owned and -operated Pacific Appeal newspaper.
The letter was sent to Mayor Brown on 31 May 2022.
Signatories are:
John Lumea
Founder, The Emperor Norton Trust
Taryn Edwards
Librarian & Strategic Partnerships Manager, Mechanics’ Institute *
Richard Everett
Former Curator of Exhibits, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Ralph Lewin
Former Executive Director,
Mechanics’ Institute *
Woody LaBounty
VP, Advocacy & Programs,
San Francisco Heritage *
Daniel Bacon
Creator of the Barbary Coast Trail; Author of the novel Frisco
Jim Schein
Owner, Schein & Schein Old Maps; Author of Gold Mountain, Big City
Chris Carlsson
Historian; Author of Hidden San Francisco
* For identification purposes only
To view the letter, click here.
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To learn more about the “Emperor Norton Bridge” honorary naming project, see EmperorNortonBridge.org
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ABOUT THE EMPEROR NORTON TRUST
THE EMPEROR NORTON TRUST is a nonprofit that works to honor the life and advance the legacy of Joshua Abraham Norton (1818-1880), the San Francisco eccentric and sometime visionary who is best known and remembered as Emperor Norton.
Founded by John Lumea in San Francisco in 2013, and originally known as The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign, the Trust adopted its current name in December 2019.
The mission of the Trust includes historical and cultural research and documentation; public education; cultural visioning; and advocacy.
The Emperor Norton Trust is the leading public resource on Emperor Norton.
Contact
John Lumea
john@EmperorNortonTrust.org