Norman E. Norton was born in Philadelphia to Clara Joanna Seel amd Albert Eugene Norton. He graduated from Central High School, and attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1913-1916) and the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia (1916-1918) before serving in the U. S. Army during World War I. After the war, Norton entered the University of Pennsylvania's architectural program, earning a Certificate of Proficiency in 1921 and completing a B. Arch. in 1936. Beginning his role as senior draftsman in 1922, Norton worked for Heacock & Hokanson until 1926 and then moved to Karcher & Smith, where he remained from 1926 through 1928. There followed stints with many local architects, including Tilden, Register & Pepper, 1928-1929; Willing, Sims & Talbutt, 1919; Morris & Erskine, 1929-1930; Clarence Hope, Wilmington, DE, 1930; The Iron Craftsman in Philadelphia, 1931-1932; E. William Martin, Wilmington, DE, 1932; and then Lawrie & Green in Harrisburg, 1936-1942. In 1942, Norton took a position as an architectural engineer at the U. S. Navy Public Works Department at the Philadelphia Naval Base, where he was first Inspector of Construction (1942-1943) and then Specification Writer( 1943-1962?). He retired in 1962.

Norton was a member of the national AIA and of the Philadelphia Chapter.

Written by Emily T. Cooperman, Sandra L. Tatman, and Rima M. Girnius.