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Norton I, Emperor of the United States
"At the preemptory request of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last nine years and ten months past of San Fransisco(sic), California, declare and proclaim myself the Emperor of these United States."
So said Emperor Norton, the beloved oddball and civic symbol who continued to make declarations throughout his ascendancy. He declared the Golden Gate Bridge should be built; he further professed his hatred of San Francisco’s nickname by proclaiming, "Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word "Frisco", which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor." Penalty for noncompliance was twenty-five dollars. In 1869, the Emperor resolved to eliminate the Democratic and Republican parties, "and do hereby decree the disenfranchisement and imprisonment, for not more than ten, nor less than five years, to all persons leading to any violation of this our imperial decree."
The Emperor took it upon himself to patrol the streets, making sure all the sidewalks of San Francisco were unobstructed. He made sure that the police were on duty and doing their jobs. He made sure that the city’s streets were in good repair, checked on the progress of repairs, inspected new buildings under construction, and made sure that general laws and ordinances were enforced.
The people of San Francisco so adored the loon, that he was given free meals wherever he went. San Francisco newspapers printed every proclamation he made. The Emperor died in 1888; every year a birthday party is thrown for him where he rests in Woodlawn Cemetery in Colma, just south of San Francisco, his headstone simply saying "Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico." |
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Lillie Hitchcock Coit
In this day and age, most people would call Lillie Hitchcock Coit a kook, or perhaps a pyromaniac. However, in her time Coit was the patroness of the firemen of San Francisco. Lillie was eager to assist the San Francisco firemen in helping to put out fires, and aid the firemen themselves.
Ever since she was a little girl, Coit was obsessed with the red fire helmets and suits firemen wore, and gloried in the roaring blaze of a big fire. She chased the fire engines, even beating them, to the scenes of fire. She was such a conspicuous presence, that she became a mascot of sorts to the firemen. The Knickerbocker Fire Company made her an honorary fireperson, giving her a gold badge to signify the auspicious occasion. She wore her badge to many a fire, and the citizens of San Francisco looked upon her with a peculiar interest and affection.
As years passed, Lillie Hitchcock Coit stopped chasing fire engines, but her interest in the fireman’s cause never abated. She made sure that the fireman’s needs were taken care of, her high regards and loving tribute sent if death claimed him.
When Ms. Coit died in San Francisco in 1929, she left a large chunk of her fortune to the city "to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved." For years, Executors of her will questioned what would be the "appropriate manner", at last deciding to build a towering memorial to the great lady, and a tribute to the city’s firemen. The novel appearance of Coit Tower, which sits atop Telegraph Hill in San Francisco stands today as an example of individuality of one woman, and of the city itself. |
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Lotta Crabtree
Lotta Crabtree (1847-1924) started her career as a child performer, touring the mining camps in the Gold Rush country of California. Lotta, a pretty child with long red hair and sparkling black eyes, entertained the predominately Irish miners with little jigs, songs, and her five-string banjo. Her success became national as she matured and appeared both in adaptations of Dickens’ fiction and in plays specially written for her and produced by her own touring company. The most highly paid American actress of her day, she delighted audiences with her high spirits, childish appearance, and youthful parts until her retirement in 1891. Her $4,000,000 fortune went to charity, the best-known object being "Lotta’s Fountain," a cast-iron column on San Francisco’s Market Street, presented in 1875. |
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Herb Caen
In 1938, Herb Caen suggested to his editors at the San Francisco Chronicle that he write a column about San Francisco. As it turned out, this was an excellent idea; Caen’s column of gossip, local politics, wacky license plates seen in the city, etc, etc. etc, graced many a reader’s breakfast table for over fifty years.
He wrote his column six days a week for over fifty years, his work never slowed until he was diagnosed with cancer. He was rewarded with a Pulitzer Prize in 1996. "To win a Pulitzer, it is necessary to be serious", Caen wrote, "ready to render learned opinions on matters of importance not only to the nation but to a waiting world. A three-dot columnist in a smallish city on the coast hardly seems worthy of a place in the pantheon."
On the day he won the Pulitzer, Herb Caen said, "I am seriously in love with ‘my’ city", and the people of San Francisco loved Caen right back. Walter Cronkite commented, "No one could love San Francisco as much as Herb. His love was reciprocated". The Port of San Francisco commissioned a three-mile long walkway along the waterfront "Herb Caen Way", the three dots were his trademark writing style, and part of the new signs.
Herb Caen died from cancer in 1997. Of Mr. Caen’s death, Francis Ford Coppola, filmmaker and native San Franciscan said, "He was really a bright light in the charm and mystique of San Francisco. He will be a part of the city forever. Goodbye Herb, everybody will miss you." |
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