A Commemorative Birthday Celebration for the Duke of Haight Street

A photograph of Norm Larson inside the Doolan-Larson Building on September 8, 2022. Photo by Linda Kelly.

San Francisco Heritage former board chair and Lilienthal Society member Nancy Gille organized a commemorative birthday party for Mr. Norman Tyler Larson, also known as ‘The Duke of The Haight’, on September 8, 2022 in his former residence on the corner of Haight & Ashbury streets in San Francisco.

A fourth-generation San Franciscan, Norm was born on September 8, 1938, and passed away on February 20, 2018. A longtime friend of SF Heritage, Norm bequeathed his home on the corner of Haight & Ashbury to the organization, which he had lived in since in 1985.

The Doolan-Larson Residence & Storefronts, a national and city landmark building, is now being used to support the work and mission of SF Heritage, including through its Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program and pop-up gallery at 1506 Haight Street. Two former SF Heritage AIRs, musician and composer Ben Juodvalkis and performer and choreographer Chibueze Crouch, joined dear friends of Norm at the celebration, including Dr. David E. Smith, founder of the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic, to raise a glass in his honor on what would have been his 84th birthday.

Guests at Norm Larson’s birthday celebration on September 8, 2022. Photo by Linda Kelly.

Former SF Heritage artists-in-residence Ben Juodvalkis (left) and Chibueze Crouch with Dr. David Smith and his wife Millicent at Norm Larson’s birthday celebration on September 8, 2022. Photo by Linda Kelly.

‘We are grateful to Nancy Gille for her heartfelt and tireless efforts to keep Norm’s spirit alive through the initiation of innovative programs and partnerships for SF Heritage at the Doolan-Larson Residence and Storefronts,” said Karalyn Monteil, President & CEO of San Francisco Heritage.

Learn more about Norman T. Larson here.

Learn more about the Doolan-Larson building here.