Emperor Norton Returns to San Francisco

It took nearly 75 years for Peter Macchiarini -- and now his son, Danny -- to get this Emperor Norton sculpture built in San Francisco

​"...There have been other Emperors in the history of this world of ours who have been out of their minds, their reigns were marked by violence and atrocity ... but ours was none of these. Charity toward all, loving kindness and benevolence were all in his heart." -- Chronicle scribe Ernest Witsee on the death of Emperor Norton I, 1880

Searching for a symbol of the light San Francisco could show the world in some truly dark days, an idea came through sculptor Peter Macchiarini's head (the very same head that was split in two by a policeman's billyclub two years earlier during the general strike of '34).

Sure, Emperor Norton I was a world-class loon -- but he was also a social progressive, who found time during his busy San Francisco days issuing proclamations and circulating his own currency to agitate for the rights of blacks and Asians. It was a natural fit for Macchiarini. He carved an 18-inch model of Norton and, in 1939, was on the brink of getting a full-sized version erected in San Francisco. The money dried up. This happened again and again, in virtually every decade between then and now. In 2002, a year after Macchiarini's death, his son, Danny, ran into a political roadblock when he attempted to have the sculpture installed near Kearney and Broadway -- on what are now known as the Peter Macchiarini steps.

So it comes as something of a fulfillment of two lifetimes' goals that the Macchiarini sculpture of Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico will finally be installed in San Francisco. And you can drink while admiring it, because it'll be in a saloon.

Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico

​"It was a perfect symbol of San Francisco as an open, enlightened city back in the 30s," says Danny Macchiarini, a sculptor and jeweler himself. "Now it's a symbol of what we call 'tolerance.'"

Jonny Raglin likely agrees. But he also thinks it's pretty damn cool to have a Norton sculpture in your bar. He and his partner, Jeff Hollinger, are taking over the former site of the San Francisco Brewing Company and opening up The Comstock Saloon at 155 Columbus. Searching for existing sculptures of the speculator-turned-benevolent-loon, Raglin stumbled across images of the Macchiarini Norton. A few phone calls and meetings accomplished what three-quarters of a century of wrangling could not -- a deal to cast a four-and-a-half foot tall, 350-pound bronze sculpture of the Emperor and install it in San Francisco. Right over the bar where he can keep an eye on his loyal tippling subjects.

Longtime readers of this Web site may recall that casting brass sculptures is not a pastime for those on fixed incomes. It's a very easy way to drop $50,000 -- or more. Danny Macchiarini got a couple of quotes for $25,000 -- but the undisclosed price will be far lower in the end, because master craftsman Piero Mussi at Artworks Foundry in Berkeley was an old pal of the elder Macchiarini, and knew how much this project meant to him.

Peter Macchiarini never gave up hope he'd find a spot in San Francisco that would host his sculpture up until his dying day -- July 3, 2001, at age 91. One of the last things the sculptor told his son was to craft a pair of sculptures of Bummer and Lazarus, the dogs often spotted trotting alongside Norton. Danny Macchiarini did just that. They may yet grace the Comstock Saloon -- but that's a subject for a different article.