A new custom neon creation gussies up the Larkin Street façade of the popular Tenderloin bar Emperor Norton’s Boozeland, with a neon design that’s actually based on the signature of Emperor Norton himself.
Tenderloin bar-hoppers and fans of SF’s greatest historical icon Emperor Norton know that the Larkin Street bar Emperor Norton’s Boozeland is one of the city's greatest repositories of memorabilia and art related to the Gold Rush-era historical figure Norton I, Emperor of the United States. The bar has an authentic piece of Emperor Norton currency, an unparalleled collection of Emperor Norton artwork, and of course the famed Emperor Norton mural on the back patio.
But the bar has recently upgraded its façade and marquee with a new (and pricey) custom neon displays that lights up Larkin Street, with the words “Emperor Norton’s” actually based on Emperor Norton’s real signature.”
“Neon is a living, breathing thing,” Emperor Norton’s Boozeland co-owner Kevin DeMattia tells SFist. “The glass can be clear. But depending on what gas you use, it turns different colors, and neon can soothe the eyes.”
The bar previously had a neon sign, but it was just one color, and far more primitive, dating back to the bar’s 2013 opening in the Jezebel’s Joint/Deco Lounge days.
“When we came in, we had that beautiful marquee, with the two horizontal blue neons, which I’ve always loved, and I realized that those weren't original to the building,” DeMattia says. “Those must have been put in when they turned it into the Deco Lounge in 2000-whatever.” [Ed. note: It was 2005.]
“We put the ‘Boozeland’ big in the middle and the ‘Emperor Norton’s’ on either side, and it always just didn't quite look right to me,” he explains. “We used Comic Sans for the font, the ‘Boozeland,’ which we thought looked cool, but people who were in graphic design were horrified. They’re like ‘That is so ugly, why would you use Comic Sans?’”
This time around, DeMattia enlisted Jim Rizzo of Neon Works in Oakland, and Al Barna and Randall Holman of San Francisco Neon walking tours. Randall custom-designed the lettering ‘Emperor Norton’ in a script based on the Emperor's handwriting, and the words ‘Boozeland’ in art deco script on either side of that.
“We heard that the city, through the SF Shines grant, was giving money to people up to $14,000 to beautify this corner of the Tenderloin,” he says, describing a program where the city partially reimburses business owners for such beautification pursuits. “When I heard they were giving out this money, I was like, “I gotta get on to this.”
The new look ends up quite similar to when the venue was a bar called Domar Club in the 1940s, at the height of San Francisco bars’ Art Deco era.
“I consider this bar my life project,” DeMattia says. “We’re just a fucking five-star dive bar. But it is my little place of magic in the world that I love to curate and caretake. And this neon is beautiful, it’s just like the cherry on the cake”
Related: Emperor Norton Bar Buys Emperor Norton Bond, Which Is Worth $15,000 [SFist]
Top Images: Louis V via Yelp
