Norman () is the third-largest

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the U.S. state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Cleveland County Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, and the second-largest city in the

Oklahoma City metropolitan area The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is an urban region in the Southern United States. It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Oklahoma and contains the state capital and principal city, Oklahoma City. It is often known as the Okla ...

, behind the state capital,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. It is 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of OKC. Norman was settled during the

Land Run of 1889 The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands of former Indian Territory, which had earlier been assigned to the Creek and Seminole peoples. The area that was opened to settlement included all or part of Canad ...

, which opened the former

Unassigned Lands The Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek (Muskogee) and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled. By 1883 it was bounded by the Chero ...

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

American pioneer American pioneers were European American and African American settlers who migrated westward from the Thirteen Colonies and later United States to settle in and develop areas of North America that had previously been inhabited or used by Nati ...

settlement. The city was named in honor of Abner Norman, the area's initial

land surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, and was formally incorporated on , 1891. Norman has prominent higher education and related research industries, as it is home to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, the largest university in the state, with nearly 32,000 students. The university is well known for its sporting events by teams under the banner of the nickname "Sooners," with over 85,000 people routinely attending

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

games. The university is home to several museums, including the

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is an art museum on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Overview The University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art holds over 20,000 objects in its permanent collection. The museum c ...

, which contains the largest collection of French Impressionist art ever given to an American university, as well as the

Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

. Norman's

National Weather Center The National Weather Center (NWC), on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, is a confederation of federal, state, and academic organizations that work together to better understand events that take place in Earth's atmosphere over a wide range ...

(NWC) houses a unique collection of university, state, federal, and private sector organizations that work together to improve the understanding of events related to the

Earth's atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

. Norman lies within

Tornado Alley Tornado Alley is a loosely defined area of the central United States where tornadoes are most frequent. The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to study severe weather in areas of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, So ...

, a geographic region where tornadic activity is particularly frequent and intense. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area, including Norman, is the world's most tornado-prone area. The

Storm Prediction Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight a ...

(SPC), a branch of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA), is at the NWC. SPC forecasts severe storm and tornado outbreaks nationwide. Additionally, research is conducted at the co-located

National Severe Storms Laboratory The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather research laboratory under the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs). NSSL s ...

(NSSL), which includes field research and operates various experimental

weather radar Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...

History

The Oklahoma region became part of the United States with the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

in 1803. Before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the U.S. government began relocating the

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by European Americans in the colonial and early federal period in the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek ...

—the five Native American tribes that the United States officially recognized via treaty—to Oklahoma. Treaties of 1832 and 1833 assigned the area known today as Norman to the

Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...

. After the Civil War, the Creeks were accused of aiding the Confederacy; as a result they ceded the region back to the United States in 1866. In the early 1870s, the federal government undertook a survey of these unassigned lands. Abner Ernest Norman, a 23-year-old surveyor from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, was hired to oversee part of this project. Norman's work crew set up camp near what is today the corner of Classen Boulevard and Lindsey Street; it was there that the men, perhaps jokingly, carved a sign on an elm tree that read "Norman's Camp," in honor of their young boss. In 1887, the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

began service to the area, which was later opened to settlement as part of the

; early settlers decided to keep the name "Norman." On , 1889, that first Land Run in what would become the state of Oklahoma saw the founding of Norman, with at least 150 residents spending the night in makeshift campsites, and by the next morning a downtown was already being constructed. Almost immediately two prominent Norman businessmen, former Purcell railroad freight agent Delbert Larsh and railroad station chief cashier Thomas Waggoner, began lobbying for the territorial government to locate its first university in Norman. The two were interested in growing the city and had reasoned that, rather than try to influence territorial lawmakers to locate the heavily contested territory capital in Norman, it made sense to attempt to secure the state's first university instead (a move that would be far less controversial). On , 1890, Larsh and Waggoner were successful with the passage of Territorial Council Bill 114, establishing the

in Norman about 18 years before Oklahoma statehood. MainStNormanEarly1900s

The City of Norman was formally incorporated on , 1891. The new Norman was a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminator ...

. African Americans were not allowed to live within the city limits or stay overnight until the early 1960s, nor could they study at the University of Oklahoma. In 2020, the Norman City Council issued an apology. Norman has grown throughout the decades. By 1902 the downtown district contained two banks, two hotels, a flour mill, and other businesses; by 1913 over 3,700 people lived in Norman when the

Oklahoma Railway Company The Oklahoma Railway Company (ORy) operated interurban lines to El Reno, Guthrie, and Norman, and several streetcar lines in Oklahoma City, and the surrounding area from 1904 to 1947. Freight traffic was also handled on the interurban lines ...

decided to extend its

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

running from Oklahoma City to

Moore Moore may refer to: People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior officer in the British Army * Moore Powell (died c. 1573 ...

into Norman, spurring additional population growth. The rail lines eventually transitioned to freight during the 1940s as the

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

system developed. The population reached 11,429 in 1940. WelcomeToNorman

With the completion of

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

in June 1959,Cockerell, Penny. "50 Years: As the intersection of Interstates 35, 40, and 44, Oklahoma is at America's crossroads." ''The Daily Oklahoman'' June 29, 2006: 2A. Norman found its role as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

to Oklahoma City increasing rapidly; in 1960 Norman's population was 33,412 but by the end of the decade had grown to 52,117. Throughout the 1960s Norman's land mass increased by by annexing surrounding areas. The city's growth trends have continued early in the 21st century, with the population reaching 95,694 in 2000, 110,925 in 2010, and 128,026 in 2020.

Military in Norman

In 1941, the

and Norman city officials established Max Westheimer Field, a university airstrip, and then leased it to the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

as a Naval Flight Training Center in 1942. It became the

Naval Air Station Norman Naval Air Station Norman is a former United States Navy air station. It was also called a Naval Flight Training Center. The air station opened in 1942 as the navy sought to expand its training capacity during World War II. It was co-located at Uni ...

, and it was used for training combat pilots during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A second training center, known as Naval Air Technical Training Center, and a naval hospital were later established to the south. In the years following World War II the airstrip was transferred back to the university's control. Today the airstrip is called the

University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport (Max Westheimer Airport) is a public use airport in Norman, in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. It is owned by the University of Oklahoma. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025 cate ...

. Following the war the remaining military presence and post-war veterans who came to Norman to get an education again grew the city's population, which was 27,006 by 1950. The Navy again utilized the bases in a lesser capacity from 1952 to 1959 in support of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

effort.

Geography

The

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

reported Norman's geographical coordinates as (35°14'26"N 97°20'43"W). This appears to be the geographical center of the city limits, which include all of Lake Thunderbird. Virtually all of Norman's development is well to the west of this point. As of 2010, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The center of this large incorporated area is from the center of

, and separated primarily by

, is in the

Topography

Norman and the surrounding areas are mostly flat with an elevation near . The terrain in the western section of Norman is prairie, while the eastern section, including the area surrounding

Lake Thunderbird Lake Thunderbird is a reservoir located in Norman, Oklahoma. The lake was constructed between 1962 and 1965 for the purpose of providing municipal water to the nearby communities of Del City, Midwest City and Norman. It is formed by an earthfill em ...

, consists of some of lakes and

Cross Timbers The term Cross Timbers, also known as Ecoregion 29, Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains, is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas. Made up of a mix of prairie ...

forest. The lowest point within city limits is approximately above sea level (located at 35.20388N, 97.17735W). The highest point is approximately above sea level (located at 35.21266N, 97.39000W).

Climate

Norman falls within a

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

region that is identified as "Cfa" class on the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

. On average Norman receives about of precipitation per year; May and June are the wettest months. Temperatures average for the year. Average daytime highs range from in January to in July; average lows range from around in January to in July. Summers can be extremely hot, as was evident in the historically hot summer of 1980, and again in 2011, when temperatures climbed above over most days from mid-June through early September Consistent winds, averaging near and usually from the south to southeast, help to temper hotter weather during the summer and intensify cold periods during the winter. Cloud-to-ground lightning2 - NOAA

The average growing season in Norman is 209 days, but plants that can withstand short periods of colder temperatures may have an additional three to six weeks. Winter months tend to be cloudier than those in summer, with the percentage of possible sunshine ranging from an average of about 55% in winter to nearly 80% in summer. Norman lies within

, the region of the United States where tornadic activity is most frequent. The city has a tornado season lasting from March through June, with over 80% of all reported tornadoes occurring during these months. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area, including Norman, is the most tornado-prone area in the United States. There have been several tornado events in recent years. On May 10, 2010, a tornado outbreak occurred in southeastern Norman that resulted in the loss of multiple homes and businesses. On April 13, 2012 Norman was struck by a weak tornado. On May 6, 2015, the northwestern part of Norman was hit by a weak tornado.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 110,925 people, 44,661 households, and 24,913 families residing within the city. By population, Norman was the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the 225th-largest city in the United States. The population density was 616 people per square mile (208.7/km). The racial makeup of the city was 84.7% White, 4.3% African American, 4.7% Native American, 3.8%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.9% from other races, and 5.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

or Latino of any race were 6.4% of the population. Of the 44,661 households, 25.0% had children under the age of 18, 41.5% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.2% were non-families. Individuals living alone made up 30.7% of all households; 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94. The age distribution was 5.8% under the age of 5, 5.7% from 5 to 9, 5.2% from 10 to 14, 8.9% from 15 to 19, 16.0% from 20 to 24, 9.0% from 25 to 29, 6.6% from 30 to 34, 5.6% from 35 to 39, 5.3% from 40 to 44, 5.9% from 45 to 49, 5.9% from 50 to 54, 5.4% from 55 to 59, 4.6% from 60 to 64, 3.2% from 65 to 69, 2.3% from 70 to 74, 1.8% from 75 to 79, 1.4% from 80 to 84, and 1.3% over 85 years of age. The median age was 29.6 years.

Males Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

made up 49.7% of the population while

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females a ...

made up 50.3%. The median household income in the city was $44,396, and the median income for a family was $62,826. Males had a median income of $41,859 versus $35,777 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,586. About 11.8% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over. Although religious information is not collected by the U.S. census, according to a 2000 survey by Dale E. Jones of the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, 50.2% of the population in Norman is affiliated with a religious institution. Of those 43.6% were

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word ...

, 15.0%

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 13.0%

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

, 3.3%

Assembly of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

, 2.8%

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

, 2.1% Latter-day Saint (

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

), 2.1%

Christian Churches and Churches of Christ The group of churches known as the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ is a fellowship of congregations within the Restoration Movement (also known as the Stone-Campbell Movement and the Reformation of the 19th Century) that have no forma ...

, 1.9%

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

, 1.7%

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and 14.6% other

Christian denominations Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

or religions.

Economy

National Weather Center 6-20-2006 3-48-27 PM

The

employs over 11,600 personnel across three campuses, making it a significant driver of Norman's economy. The campus is a center for scientific and technological research, having contributed over $277 million to such programs in 2009. Norman is also home of the

, a cooperative research effort between the

and the

that houses a number of weather- and

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

-related organizations; the city is also the location of the National Weather Museum & Science Center. As a result of this ongoing academic and public weather research, several private

meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

businesses are present in the city, including Weathernews Americas, Inc., Vieux and Associates, Inc.,

Verisk Analytics Verisk Analytics, Inc. is an American multinational data analytics and risk assessment firm based in Jersey City, New Jersey, with customers in insurance, natural resources, financial services, government, and risk management sectors. The company ...

, Pivotal Weather, and DTN (formerly Weather Decision Technologies). In addition to weather, Norman is a center for other scientific ventures, public and private. The Oklahoma Geological Survey, which conducts geological research, and the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council, which is a public-private alliance that fosters

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

technology with the aim of establishing more viable applications, make the city their home. Southwest NanoTechnologies is a producer of single-walled

carbon nanotube A scanning tunneling microscopy image of a single-walled carbon nanotube Rotating single-walled zigzag carbon nanotube A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with diameters typically measured in nanometers. ''Single-wall carbon na ...

s. Bergey Windpower is a supplier of

small wind turbine Small wind turbines, also known as micro wind turbines, are used for microgeneration of electricity, as opposed to large commercial wind turbines, such as those found in wind farms. Small wind turbines often have passive yaw systems as opposed ...

Other major employers in the city include Norman Regional Health System,

Norman Public Schools Norman Public Schools (formally known as Independent School District Number 29 of Cleveland County, Oklahoma) is a public school district serving parts of Norman, Oklahoma, United States. There are over 15,000 students enrolled in the district. T ...

Johnson Controls Johnson Controls International is an American Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in around 2,0 ...

, Griffin Memorial Hospital,

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

Astellas Pharma is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company, formed on 1 April 2005 from the merger of and . On February 5, 2020, the company announced management changes effective from April 1, 2020. Astellas is a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Fina ...

Technologies, Albon Engineering, Xyant Technology,

MSCI MSCI Inc. is an American finance company headquartered in New York City. MSCI is a global provider of equity, fixed income, real estate indexes, multi-asset portfolio analysis tools, ESG and climate products. It operates the MSCI World, MSCI ...

SITEL Sitel Group is a privately owned contact center company headquartered in Miami, Florida. It provides outsourced sales, technical support, customer service, and other business processes for large companies. The company has 160,000 employees an ...

, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

National Center for Employee Development, Sysco Corporation, and

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

. University North Park, a

lifestyle center A lifestyle center (American English), or lifestyle centre (Commonwealth English), is a shopping center or mixed-used commercial development that combines the traditional retail functions of a shopping mall with leisure amenities oriented toward ...

with planned development on over of land, is on 24th Ave NW along the

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

corridor between Robinson Street and Tecumseh Road. Begun in 2006, the project will feature of parks, offices, and high-end retail once completed. In 2008,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

's ''

Money Magazine ''Money'' is an American personal finance brand and website owned by Ad Practitioners LLC and formerly also a monthly magazine, first published by Time Inc. (1972–2018) and later by Meredith Corporation (2018–2019). Its articles cover the g ...

'' ranked Norman as the sixth best small city within the United States to live in, the highest ranking of any city in Oklahoma.

Fair trade

In 2010, Norman became the 17th city in the United States to adopt a council resolution giving it status as a

Fair Trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...

Town. The resolution states that the city of Norman supports the purchasing of goods from the local community; when goods cannot be purchased locally the city will support buying from producers abroad who meet Fair Trade standards. These standards include supporting quality of life in developing countries and planning for environmental sustainability.

Top employers

According to the Norman's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Culture

Museums and theater

Norman enjoys many cultural attractions that are funded by the university. The

made national and international news in 2000 when it was given the Weitzenhoffer Collection, the largest collection of French Impressionist art ever given to an American university. The collection includes works by

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

, and

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...

. The

is a museum containing over of exhibits ranging from

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropolo ...

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, and Native American studies. Its exhibits are intended to immerse visitors in the state's long history. The museum features many complete collections of

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

fossils and is also noted for its

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

collection, considered to be one of the largest and most important in existence. The Moore-Lindsay House is a Queen Anne-style home built prior to 1900 by prominent Norman

home builder A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

William Moore; it was purchased by the city of Norman in 1973 and today serves as the city and Cleveland County's historical museum. Located at 508 N. Peters, the Moore-Lindsay House's architecture is representative of Norman during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. The Cleveland County Historical Society maintains a collection of over 5,000 rare books, documents, and other artifacts in its archives located inside the house. Catlett Music Center at the

features many orchestral and jazz performances and the

Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts The Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts is the fine arts unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The college produces nearly 300 concerts, recitals, dramas, musicals, operas and dance performances each year. The college occupies severa ...

' Schools of Dance, Drama, and Musical Theatre offer many student programs throughout the year. The city is also home to many privately funded galleries and performance sites.

Community events

Norman hosts many free festivals and community events that occur throughout the year. The Norman Medieval Fair is a celebration of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

-themed games, art, and culture, with highlights of jousting, human chessmatch combats & other combat shows, and several musical & dance acts. The event is typically held during the last weekend of March or first weekend of April in Reaves Park, near the university. It has been held annually in Norman since 1976 and was originally a forum for the English Department at the

. It is the largest weekend event held in the state of

, with over 325,000 people in attendance in 2006 and growing yearly. Events Media Network has named Medieval Fair one of the top 100 events in the United States. Norman Music Festival is an annual weekend music festival held in April in downtown Norman. Established in 2008, the event had over 26,000 people in attendance during the 2009 festival. Originally a one-day event, the festival has quickly grown so large that it is now an all-weekend concert series. The festival highlights both local musicians and internationally acclaimed artists and features many forms and styles of music. Groovefest is a music festival hosted annually at Andrews Park. On the last Sunday in September, the music festival is held to help raise awareness about human rights. The event was established in 1986 by the

chapter of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. The Chocolate Festival, the only fundraiser of the year for the city's Firehouse Arts Center, was ranked #3 for food festivals across America by the Food Network. This festival offers various chocolate tasting sessions, chocolate art competitions and exhibits, chocolate dessert competitions and more. It has been an annual tradition since 1983. The National Weather Festival takes place at the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

every fall, featuring

food trucks A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including Ice cream van, ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare f ...

weather balloon A weather balloon, also known as sounding balloon, is a balloon (specifically a type of high-altitude balloon) that carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a ...

launches, educational booths, and meet-and-greets with local

meteorologists A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

. Jazz in June is a music festival held the last full weekend in June at various venues across Norman. The festival features both

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and blues musical performances as well as jazz educational

clinics A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

taught by professional musicians appearing in the festival and post-concert jam sessions at local venues which bring headliners and local artists together. Jazz in June, one of the major cultural events in the state as well as the City of Norman, attracts a combined concert audience of 50,000 drawn from throughout the state, region and nation. Another 100,000 or more enjoy these same performances through post-festival broadcasts on KGOU Public Radio as well as other public radio stations throughout the state, region and nation. May Fair is an

arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...

held every year during the first weekend in May at Andrews Park. It features top area performers, fine art, crafts, and food. Summer Breeze Concert Series is a series of concerts held from Spring to Fall at various park venues across Norman. The series is sponsored by the Performing Arts Studio. Midsummer Nights' Fair is a nighttime

held during two evenings in June. The fair features art, music, and food and is held outside the Firehouse Art Center located in Lions Park. The Norman Mardi Gras parade is a celebration of

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

occurring on the Saturday closest to

Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

. The parade is held in downtown Norman and features themed costumes and floats. The Main Street Christmas Holiday Parade is a celebration of Christmas and the

holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

held every December in downtown Norman. The parade features holiday-themed costumes and floats.

Sports

The University of Oklahoma sponsors many collegiate sporting events in Norman. The school is well known for its football program, having won seven

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

National Football Championships. In addition, it has the best winning percentage of any

Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

team since the introduction of the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

in 1936 and has played in four

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college fo ...

s since 1998. During football season, the Oklahoma Sooners football program contributes significantly to Norman's economy. During game day weekends, Norman sees an influx out of town traffic from all over the country with over 80,000 people routinely attending

games. Norman's local businesses, especially areas around campus and Campus Corner, benefit greatly from the game day traffic alone. The program ranks in the top 10 of ESPN's top college football money-makers with home games generating revenues at approximately $59 million and game day operating expenses at about $6.1 million. In 1951 and 1994 its baseball team won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

national championship, and the women's softball team won the national championship in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2022. The men's and women's

gymnastic Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoul ...

s teams have won ten national championships since 2001. Other university men's sports include: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, football, Ultimate Frisbee, tennis, track and field, and wrestling. The OU Sooners men's hockey team competes in the American College Hockey Association, at the "club" level, but has yet to apply for higher-level play. Due to the lack of a rink in Norman, the team plays at the Blazers Ice Centre in south Oklahoma City. Women's sports include: basketball, cross country, golf, gymnastics, football, Ultimate Frisbee, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The

Golf Coaches Association of America The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) is a non-profit organization that is a professional association of men’s collegiate golf coaches. It was founded in 1958, and is located on 1225 West Main Street in Norman, Oklahoma. The GCAA has o ...

(GCAA), a non-profit professional association of men's collegiate golf coaches, is located in Norman.

Parks and recreation

Norman's Parks and Recreation Department facilitates 55 neighborhood and community parks, three recreation centers, a golf course and driving range, three disc golf courses, a complete swim complex with waterslides, a wading pool, 32 tennis courts, and three special services centers (that offer cultural arts and senior citizen activities). Griffin Community Park Sports Complex includes 16 soccer fields, 14 baseball/softball fields, and four football fields.

Law and government

A council-manager government has been in place in Norman since the adoption of its

city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

on , 1919. A

councilor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

from each of the city's eight council

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

is elected to office every two years, each serving a two-year term. Councilors are elected from their own respective wards based on a

plurality voting system Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...

; a councilor from each ward serves on the Norman

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. A mayor is elected by the entire voting population of Norman and serves as an

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

councilor; the mayor serves a three-year term. As a whole, the council acts as the legislative body of city government; it aims to pass laws, approve the city budget, and manage efficiency in the government. The City Council appoints a professional

City Manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

who is responsible for the city's day-to-day administrative activities. The City of Norman has approximately 650 employees working in 11 departments and 31 boards and commissions that help oversee and implement the city's policies and services. The City Council meets biweekly in

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, at 201 W. Gray Street; various boards and commissions meet in accordance with their own schedules. The mayor is Larry Heikkila (elected in 2022), and the city manager is Darrel Pyle (appointed in 2019). In accordance with the charter of the city of Norman, all city elected positions are

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

. *Thomas B. Wagoner, circa 1889 *Pryor Adkins, circa 1894 *? *N.E. Sharp, circa 1912 *? *T. Jack Foster, circa 1929 *? *Al Fuzzell, circa 1952–1953 *H. W. Masters, circa 1954 *Jack Milton, circa 1955 *James F. Long, circa 1956 *June Tompkins Benson, 1957–1960 *? *William S. Morgan, circa 1967 *Gordon D. Masters 1969–1972 *Bill Nations, 1992–1998 *Bob Thompson, 1998–2001 *Ron Henderson, 2001–2004 *Harold Haralson, circa 2005 *Cindy Simon Rosenthal, circa 2007–2016 *Lynne Miller, 2016–2019 *Breea Clark, 2019–2022 *Larry Heikkila, 2022-present Municipal and state laws are enforced by the

Norman Police Department Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

. The police department consists of up to 171 commissioned officers and 71 office employees and is Oklahoma's third-largest police department. The city serves as the

Education

Higher education

Colleges and universities

University of Oklahoma July 2019 69 (Bizzell Memorial Library)

The

is the largest university in the state of Oklahoma, with approximately 30,000 students enrolled. The university was founded in 1890, prior to Oklahoma statehood. The university includes both Norman and

campuses with the main campus located in Norman. In 2007, ''

The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

'' named the University of Oklahoma one of its "Best Value" colleges. The school is ranked first per capita among public universities in enrollment of

National Merit Scholar The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...

s and has seen 28

Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

graduate since the program's inception in 1902. PC Magazine and the Princeton Review rated it one of the "20 Most Wired Colleges" in both 2006 and 2008, while the Carnegie Foundation classifies it as a

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

with "highest research activity." The school is well known for its athletic programs, having won many awards including seven

National Football Championships.

CareerTech

The city of Norman is served by the

Moore Norman Technology Center The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education (ODCTE, commonly known and branded as CareerTech) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. CareerTech oversees a statewide system of career and technology e ...

. The school was established in 1972 and has been awarded the Oklahoma Association of Technology Center's Gold Star School Award on multiple occasions. The Franklin Road Campus consists of six buildings totaling of classroom, meeting, and office space. The school has a full-time staff of 207.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Public school districts in Oklahoma are independent of other local governments. Several districts overlap the municipal boundaries of the City of Norman.

is the largest district serving Norman; there are 15 elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools in the district. More than 17,000 students are enrolled in the district, making it one of the largest in the state. Noble Public Schools is a school district that serves southeastern portions of Norman, the adjoining cities of

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

and

Slaughterville Slaughterville is a town in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and located in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,137. The community is made up of mostly homes on acreages so it has reta ...

, and parts of

. It consists of two elementary schools, an intermediate school, a middle school, and a high school. Little Axe Public Schools serves the eastern area of Norman. It consists of an elementary, junior, and high school. Other school districts with territory within the city are the Robin Hill Public School District and the Moore Public School District.

Private schools

University of Oklahoma July 2019 75 (Visitor Center)

Several private schools also serve the area: *All Saints Catholic School – pre-kindergarten through 8th grade *Blue Eagle Christian Academy – kindergarten through 10th grade *Community Christian School – kindergarten through 12th grade *Norman Christian Academy – pre-kindergarten through 7th grade *Robinson Street Academy – kindergarten through 12th grade *Rose Rock School – pre-kindergarten through kindergarten *Terra Verde Discovery School – kindergarten through 5th grade *Trinity Lutheran School – pre-kindergarten through 6th grade *Veritas Classical Christian Academy – pre-kindergarten through 12th grade

Libraries

Norman is served by three public libraries, Norman Public Library Central, Norman Public Library East, and Norman Public Library West, all of which are part of the 12-branch

Pioneer Library System The Pioneer Library System (PLS) is a public library system that serves residents in the central Oklahoma counties of Cleveland, Pottawatomie and McClain with administrative offices in Norman. Additionally, the system also allows those ser ...

which serves the entirety of

, McClain County and Pottawatomie County in Central Oklahoma. The library has a reciprocal agreement with the Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma City through which those eligible for a library card in one system are also eligible in the other. Cardholders are also able to borrow books unavailable in the PLS collection through the use of Interlibrary Loan. Books can be reserved and shipped to a local library free of charge. In addition to books, the library maintains a collection of periodicals, DVD videos, audio books, e-books and research materials. The

Bizzell Memorial Library The Bizzell Memorial Library, known also as Bizzell Library, is a five-story brick structure located at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. It is an elaborate Collegiate Gothic or Cherokee Gothic building, designed by the architecture ...

at the

is the largest library in the state of Oklahoma, containing more than five million volumes. In addition to books, the library maintains over in length of manuscripts and archives, 1.6 million photographs, and more than 1.5 million maps. The library also houses more than 50 books printed before the year 1500.

Media

The Norman Transcript ''The Norman Transcript'' is a daily newspaper published in Norman, Oklahoma, United States, covering Cleveland and McClain counties, in the southern suburbs of Oklahoma City. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. The newspaper is the ...

'' is the most widely circulated Norman-based newspaper in the city. It is a daily newspaper covering events in Cleveland and McClain counties. It is the oldest continuous business in Norman and was founded shortly after the Land Run of April 1889 on , 1889. ''

The Oklahoma Daily ''OU Daily'', formally known as The Oklahoma Daily, is the independent, student-produced newspaper at the University of Oklahoma, with a circulation of 6,000. Though it maintains a connection with OU's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Commun ...

'' is a student-run newspaper at the

. It was first published in 1897, several years after the university's founding. The paper has received numerous awards for journalism excellence including the

Associated Collegiate Press The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association. It awards the newspaper, mag ...

Pacemaker Award The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer ...

KGOU KGOU is a National Public Radio member news/talk/jazz music/blues music radio station serving the Oklahoma City area, western and northwestern Oklahoma, and towns in Pontotoc, Seminole and Grady counties.

is a full-service public radio station licensed to the University of Oklahoma. The station serves Norman and the greater

metropolitan area with a news/talk/jazz format, using programs from

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...

, and others. Norman TV is a

government-access television Government-access television (GATV) is a type of specialty television channel created by government entities (generally local governments) and broadcast over cable TV systems or, in some cases, over-the-air broadcast television stations. GATV pr ...

station airing on Cox Communications cable television channel 20. It broadcasts programming provided by the City of Norman, including video from

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

meetings.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Airports

Scheduled air transport An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...

, major commercial air transportation is available at

Will Rogers World Airport Will Rogers World Airport , Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is a passenger airport located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, about 6 miles (10 km) southwest of the city's downtown area. It is a civil-military airport ...

, located approximately northwest of Norman. The airport serves more than 3.78 million passengers per year. Norman is served locally by Max Westheimer Airport, a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airport run by the University of Oklahoma. The airport is one of only two airports in the

designated as a

reliever airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporary basis. Reliever a ...

to Will Rogers World Airport. Max Westheimer Airport is capable of handling aircraft up through and including executive class jet aircraft.

Buses

The Cleveland Area Rapid Transit, operated by the

, provides bus service throughout the Norman area. CART also provides service to the

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

offices in

, as well as to

EMBARK Embark is a Sri Lankan animal rescue and welfare organization. Since 2007, Embark has been conducting rescues, adoptions, sterilizations, vaccinations, education programmes and advocacy campaigns for the welfare of homeless dogs, cats and other ...

transit hub downtown. EMBARK maintains a fleet of buses and trolleys serving the greater Oklahoma City area, with a new light-rail system expected to begin operations in 2018. All service to

is not currently available. In 2008, CART became the 39th public transportation system in the United States to be featured on

Google Transit Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

, a website that allows transportation users to electronically plan their travel routes. In 2010, CART buses were modified to include a

GPS tracking A GPS tracking unit, geotracking unit, satellite tracking unit, or simply tracker is a navigation device normally on a vehicle, asset, person or animal that uses satellite navigation to determine its movement and determine its WGS84 UTM ge ...

system that allows riders to see the location of buses and their predicted arrival times via the CART and Google websites. CART buses transport more than 1.3 million travelers annually.

Rail

Inter-city

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

service is available via

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

at Norman Depot. Amtrak's ''

Heartland Flyer The ''Heartland Flyer'' is a daily passenger train that follows a route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. It is operated by Amtrak and jointly funded by the states of Oklahoma and Texas. The train's daily round-trip begins ...

'' provides daily round trip service to downtown Oklahoma City and

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. Although Norman currently has no light rail or

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

service, there is growing interest in incorporating such services into the city's future transportation plans as part of the Oklahoma City metro area's regional transit system.

Roads and highways

The predominant form of transportation in Norman is roads and highways with 80.0% of all residents driving alone to work, 9.0% carpooling, and just 1.3% taking public transportation. As of 2007,

alone was handling over 99,000 vehicles per day. Other major highways include State Highway 9, a portion of which serves 28,000 vehicles per day, and U.S. Highway 77, which serves more than 25,000 vehicles per day. Norman is served by two major federal highways: * I-35 (OK)

U.S. Highway 77 Norman is served by two major Oklahoma state highways: * Oklahoma State Highway 9

State Highway 9 * Oklahoma State Highway 77H

State Highway 77H Norman is also connected to the planned South Loop Turnpike via the Norman Spur Turnpike, which follows State Highway 9 from a point west of Interstate 35 to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (Interstate 44) south of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. Plans are going forward to connect the Norman Spur to Airport Road (Oklahoma 152) in Oklahoma City and to the north to the existing John Kilpatrick Turnpike that ends just south of Interstate 40 near Yukon and moving north across the north side of Oklahoma City to the Turner Turnpike to Tulsa. The expansion will allow Norman residents a high-speed, limited-access route to the west without having to enter the heavily trafficked areas of Oklahoma City. Future plans call for an extension east and north of the Turnpike to connect Norman directly to Interstate 40 east and the Turner Turnpike to Tulsa, greatly reducing travel times for residents because they will be able to avoid Oklahoma City's traffic in all directions except for northbound Interstate 35.

Utilities

Electric utility companies servicing Norman include

Oklahoma Gas & Electric Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (branded as OG+E or "O-G-and-E") is a regulated electric utility company that serves over 843,000 customers in Oklahoma and Arkansas, including 1.5 million people in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. It is the ...

, which is headquartered in Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (a

utility cooperative A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profit (accounting), Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distrib ...

). Natural gas is provided by

Oklahoma Natural Gas Oklahoma Natural Gas is the largest natural gas distributor in the state of Oklahoma. Originally founded in 1906, it is one of the oldest corporations in Oklahoma. Oklahoma Natural Gas is a regulated public utility which serves 871,000 customers, ...

. The city's Utility Department offers water, wastewater, and recycling services to parts of the city as well as solid waste pickup citywide. Telephone networks, broadband internet, and cable television service are available from several companies including

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...

and

Drinking water controversy

In a study published in 2007, the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

deemed

hexavalent chromium Hexavalent chromium (chromium(VI), Cr(VI), chromium 6) is chromium in any chemical compound that contains the element in the +6 oxidation state (thus hexavalent). Virtually all chromium ore is processed via hexavalent chromium, specifically the ...

VI (chromium-6) to be a likely carcinogen in lab animals when consumed in large quantities (>62.5ppm) in drinking water. The

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

does not currently require testing for or set limits on chromium-6 levels in American cities' water supplies (but it does require total chromium-3 and chromium-6 levels not exceed 100 ppb). The official total chromium-3/chromium-6 level present in Norman's drinking water has ranged from 20 to 80 ppb. It has been proposed that the source of the chromium-6 is the Garber-Wellington

Aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

, which is known to have elevated levels of

heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals are generally defined as ...

. The issue of chromium-6 levels gained national attention with the 2000 film release of ''

Erin Brockovich Erin Brockovich (née Pattee; born June 22, 1960) is an American legal clerk, consumer advocate, and environmental activist who, despite her lack of education in the law, was instrumental in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric Compan ...

'', which detailed a California woman's legal fight against

Pacific Gas and Electric Company The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

for allegedly contaminating her hometown with excessive levels of the element. In the past the Norman water supply has also been criticized for the presence of excessive levels of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

. The city is attempting to combat this problem by building new

wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

and removing older ones.

Health systems

Norman Regional Health System is a multi-campus system that provides medical services in Norman and throughout south central Oklahoma. Its Porter Avenue campus, located north of downtown Norman, is a 337-bed

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

providing a wide range of services including

acute care Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery.Alberta Health ServicesAcute care.Acces ...

. In October 2009, the Norman Regional HealthPlex campus opened in west Norman. It provides a 152-bed facility specializing in

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart d ...

, cardiovascular services, as well as women's and children's services.

Notable people

Neighborhoods

Norman has a wide variety of neighborhoods. Downtown Norman is an area of approximately bounded by University Blvd., Symmes St., Porter Ave., and Daws St.; primary streets include Main St. and Gray St. The area consists of restaurants, art galleries, and other businesses; it is home to some of the oldest buildings in Oklahoma. Hall Park is an area northeast of downtown Norman that was originally an independent township; in 2005 it was

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

into Norman, becoming one of its neighborhoods. The area is home to many middle-class suburban homes and is historically important in that it was advertised as the United States' first "all-electric town." President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, then an executive with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

, attended Hall Park's grand opening ceremonies in 1962 where he was named the town's honorary first mayor. CampusCorner

The

and the area surrounding it are home to many historically significant neighborhoods. The university itself has a unique Gothic-inspired architecture known as "Cherokee Gothic," so named by architect

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. Churches and houses in the surrounding neighborhoods can be described as

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

or Queen Anne in style. Norman has two city-designated

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

districts in the area: the Miller Historic District, bounded by Symmes St., Classen Blvd., and Miller Ave.; and the Chautauqua Historic District, bounded by Symmes St., Brooks St., Chautauqua Ave., and Lahoma Ave. Both of these residential neighborhoods contain houses designed from a mixture of architectural styles dating from 1903 to 1935, with the majority of the Miller neighborhood being of the

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. Its ...

style homes. Any external changes or repairs to homes in these areas must be approved by the Norman Historic Preservation Commission. The area immediately north of the university is known as Campus Corner and contains a mixture of businesses, bars, and restaurants. The neighborhoods to the east of the campus are home to many students, both in residential housing and high-rise condos/apartments. Norman enjoys many tree-lined landscapes, participating in the ReLeaf Norman and

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...

programs.

Twin towns – sister cities

In accordance with

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities"� ...

, an organization that began under President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, Norman has been given four international sister cities in an attempt to foster cross-cultural understanding: *

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy *

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152. * Colima, Col., Mexico *

Seika is a form of ''ikebana''. Written with the same ''kanji'' characters, it is also pronounced and known as ''Shōka''. History The painter Sōami and the art patron and ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimasa were supporters of the style as early as ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, Japan

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* *
Norman Convention & Visitor's BureauNorman's who's who website
{{Authority control Cities in Oklahoma Cities in Cleveland County, Oklahoma Populated places established in 1889 Artist colonies 1889 establishments in Indian Territory Sundown towns in Oklahoma