Those who visited the old Transbay Terminal before it was demolished may remember the plaque dedicated to Emperor Norton next to the front door.
The plaque reads:
Pause traveler
and be grateful to
Norton 1st,
Emperor of the United States
Protector of Mexico, 1859-80,
whose prophetic wisdom
conceived and decreed the
bridging of San Francisco Bay
August 18 1869
Dedicated by E Clampus Vitus, Feb 25th, 1939
Recently the plaque was restored and installed at the new Salesforce Transit Center, the replacement for the Transbay Terminal. The plaque was restored by the de Young museum, naturally by a current member of E Clampus Vitus.
All the rust was carefully removed and it now looks nearly as good as new. It’s located next to bus bay 7 inside the transit center, where it won’t have to weather the elements nearly as much as before.
A plaque next to it recalls the history of the Norton plaque when it was relocated from the Cliff House to the Transbay Terminal.
This second plaque reads:
This plaque re-located and re-dedicated on the 50th anniversary of the bridge envisioned by Emperor Norton
And so recorded by E Clampus Vitus Nov. 11, 5991 (1986)
Yerba Buena Chapter 1
Joaquin Murrieta Chapter 13
For many more details on the history of this plaque, see this blog post from The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign.