Historic Norman Tour

Introduction to Historic Tour App

Norman grew from a United States Land Survey crew camp along Bishop Creek in 1870 to a vibrant community of over 120,000 residents in 2023. Like other communities located along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe rail line, the town of Norman began with the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. Rail lines played an important role in the development of Norman. It not only brought people from all over the country and the world to this small community on the prairie, but also brought the necessary materials and goods to build and grow a community. Today the train depot and the railroad tracks are landmarks that remind us of our past. In recent decades, the Legacy Trail System was constructed along the railroad line highlighting the importance of this critical infrastructure in the establishment of Norman. As you travel along Legacy Trail and explore these historic properties, imagine the life for residents as they worked to establish a community.

As Norman grew, it built structures that enlivened the city including a downtown business district, residential neighborhoods and the University of Oklahoma. Many of the structures listed in the Norman Downtown Historic District still present today were constructed after the fire of 1902 that leveled most of the structures on Main Street. Other significant structures built between 1920 and 1950 include the Sooner Theatre Building, Cleveland County Courthouse, the United States Post Office, and the Norman Public Library! At the same time that Norman‘s downtown was growing, so was the University of Oklahoma and surrounding residential neighborhoods.

To help tell the history of Norman this tour contains 23 historic stops including properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A National Register of Historic Places designation indicates a property is significant to the community’s past. This tour contains 16 properties listed in the National Register of Historic Place, including 13 buildings, 1 district, and a set of structures.

Enjoy exploring Norman’s history!

How to use the Historic Norman self-guided tour

This self-guided tour will lead you to various tour stops where you can learn more about Norman's historical homes and buildings. Begin by tapping the "Download Tour" button at the bottom of this screen, then "Start Tour" when the content finishes downloading. From there, you'll be asked to allow location services- this app uses your GPS location to autoplay audio content, so please grant them permission when asked.

If you don't want to allow GPS location services, you can still enjoy the Historic Norman tour. To access the content without location services, there are two methods available:

To access the map, tap on the folded map icon at the bottom of any tour stop screen. This will take you to a map of the area that shows the physical location of each stop, as well as a list of all the stops that you can scroll through. Click on any stop and a pop-up of the tour stop screen will appear. You can advance to the next stop from there by tapping “Next” or you can tap “Close” and return to the map. To exit the map completely, tap the “Close” button on the top, left-hand side of the map.

To access the list, tap the icon in the upper right corner of the screen that looks like a bulleted list and the Stop List will pop out. Tap on the tour stop you wish to see. Once on a tour stop screen, you can tap “Next” to advance to the next stop, or you can tap the icon again to pop-out the entire list of stops.