Just off to the side of the 600 block of Commercial Street, a small alley in the Financial District near Jackson Square, is a plaza with seating, gardens, and a water feature.
This privately-owned, public open space (or POPOS) is named Empire Park and features a stone plaque dedicated to Emperor Norton.
Muddying the waters a bit, the park is (or was?) owned by real estate firm The Empire Group, which is not the same company as the nearby Empire Records. It’s unclear if either company is named after the Emperor of the United States himself, Joshua Norton.
Norton at one point lived nearby, though the building itself is long gone.
Mark Twain lived and worked in the same neighborhood during his time in San Francisco — which admittedly was a much smaller city back then. The two almost certainly met, as the character the King in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is widely acknowledged to be based off of the Emperor.
Empire Park is open to the public most days, though I can’t find an up to date list of hours when it’s unlocked. The park was dedicated to Emperor Norton by Yerba Buena #1 of E Clampsus Vitus.
