{{short description|American historian (1928-2021)}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox academic | birth_date = {{birth date|1928|9|3}} | birth_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|6|7|1928|9|3}} | occupation = Historian | awards = {{ublist| * Guggenheim Fellowship (1975) * Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award (1979) }} | alma_mater = {{ublist| * George Washington University * Catholic University of America * American University * Yale University }} | thesis_title = Chandigarh: A Study of the City and its Monuments | thesis_year = 1963 | discipline = {{flatlist| * Architectural history * urban history }} | workplaces = University of California, Berkeley }} '''Norma Doris Evenson''' (September 3, 1928 – June 7, 2021) was an American historian of architecture and urban planning. A 1975 Guggenheim Fellow, she won the 1979 Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award for her book ''Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978'' (1979), and she wrote ''Chandigarh'' (1966), ''Le Corbusier: The Machine and the Grand Design'' (1969), ''Two Brazilian Capitals'' (1973), and ''The Indian Metropolis: A View Toward the West'' (1989). She was also a professor at University of California, Berkeley for thirty years. ==Biography== Norma Doris Evenson was born on September 3, 1928, in Minneapolis.<ref name="LOCHF">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-6YWAQAAMAAJ |title=National Directory of Latin Americanists: Biographies of 2,688 Specialists in the Social Sciences & Humanities |publisher=Library of Congress Hispanic Foundation |year=1972 |page=184}}</ref> She obtained her BA from George Washington University in 1950 and her MFA from the Catholic University of America on 1951.<ref name="GF" /> After a few years as an art teacher and consultant in Montgomery County, Maryland, as well as a year of study at the American University (1957-1958), she went to Yale University, where she got her MA in 1960 and her PhD in 1963.<ref name="GF" /> She also worked as a research assistant at the Yale University Art Gallery while doing graduate studies at Yale.<ref name="LOCHF" />

In 1963, Evenson became an assistant professor of architectural history at the University of California, Berkeley,<ref name="GF" /> where she was part of the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design.<ref name="ced" /> Kathleen James-Chakraborty said that Evenson was hired in part due to student demand for diversity at UC Berkeley.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=James-Chakraborty |first=Kathleen |date=2021 |title=Accreditation Requirements and the Global History of Architecture |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=136–139 |doi=10.1525/jsah.2021.80.2.136 |issn=0037-9808 |jstor=48766426}}</ref> She was promoted to associate professor in 1969 and full professor in 1972.<ref name="GF" /> She retired from UC Berkeley in 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SAYING GOODBYE |url=https://ced.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Saying_goodbye-send_CED_10.pdf |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=ced.berkeley.edu}}</ref>

Evenson wrote on urban history, including urban planning in India and Brazil.<ref name="ced" /> In 1975,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Norma Evenson |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/norma-evenson |website=Guggenheim Fellows}}</ref> she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study the era following Haussmann's renovation of Paris.<ref name="GF">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZHWAAAAMAAJ |title=Reports of the President and of the Treasurer |publisher=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |year=1975 |pages=37}}</ref> She won the Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award for her 1979 book ''Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978''.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1980 |title=[Awards] |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=39 |issue=3 |doi=10.2307/989565 |issn=0037-9808 |jstor=989565}}</ref> She was appointed Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obituary: SAH Fellow Norma Evenson (1929-2021) |url=https://www.sah.org/about-sah/news/news-detail/2021/11/29/obituary-sah-fellow-norma-evenson-(1929-2021) |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=Society of Architectural Historians |language=en |archive-date=January 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102025855/https://www.sah.org/about-sah/news/news-detail/2021/11/29/obituary-sah-fellow-norma-evenson-(1929-2021) |url-status=live }}</ref> Other books she wrote include ''Chandigarh'' (1966), ''Le Corbusier: The Machine and the Grand Design'' (1969), ''Two Brazilian Capitals'' (1973), and ''The Indian Metropolis: A View Toward the West'' (1989).<ref name="ced" /> She also received grants from the American Philosophical Society and Social Science Research Council.<ref name="LOCHF" />

Evenson's personal library of architectural history materials was destroyed in the Oakland firestorm of 1991.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paddock |first=Richard C. |title=Oakland's Elite Lose Irreplaceable History |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/176383030 |work=The Los Angeles Times |page=A30}}</ref>

Evenson died on June 7, 2021, in the Washington metropolitan area; she was 92.<ref name="ced">{{Cite web |title=CED Professor Emerita Norma Evenson Has Died |url=https://ced.berkeley.edu/news/ced-professor-emerita-norma-evenson-has-died-2 |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design |archive-date=April 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426143825/https://ced.berkeley.edu/news/ced-professor-emerita-norma-evenson-has-died-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> ==Bibliography== *''Chandigarh'' (1966)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ascher |first=Charles S. |date=1967 |title=Review of Chandigarh |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=370 |pages=231–232 |issn=0002-7162 |jstor=1038123}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Besset |first=Maurice |date=1968 |title=Review of Chandigarh |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=148–150 |doi=10.2307/988474 |issn=0037-9808 |jstor=988474}}</ref> *''Le Corbusier: The Machine and the Grand Design'' (1969)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burchard |first=John E. |date=1971 |title=Review of The Modern City: Planning in the 19th Century; Tony Garnier: The Cité Industrielle; Le Corbusier: The Machine and the Grand Design |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=133–134 |doi=10.2307/3048822 |issn=0004-3079 |jstor=3048822}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Serenyi |first=Peter |date=1971 |title=Review of Who Was Le Corbusier?; Le Corbusier, Elemente einer Synthese; Pessac de Le Corbusier; Le Corbusier: The Machine and the Grand Design |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=255–259 |doi=10.2307/988757 |issn=0037-9808 |jstor=988757}}</ref> *''Two Brazilian Capitals'' (1973)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ascher |first=Charles S. |date=1974 |title=Review of Two Brazilian Capitals: Architecture and Urbanism in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia; Brasilia, Plan and Reality: A Study of Planned and Spontaneous Urban Development |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=411 |pages=234–235 |doi=10.1177/000271627441100177 |issn=0002-7162 |jstor=1041072}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blair |first=Thomas |date=1973 |title=Review of Two Brazilian Capitals: Architecture and Urbanism in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia |journal=Built Environment (1972-1975) |volume=2 |issue=12 |pages=695 |issn=0045-3463 |jstor=43677423}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burchard |first=John Ely |date=1974 |title=The Brazilian Model |journal=The Virginia Quarterly Review |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=138–143 |issn=0042-675X |jstor=26435414}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fogle |first=David P. |date=1977 |title=Review of Two Brazilian Capitals: Architecture and Urbanism in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=212–213 |doi=10.2307/989082 |issn=0037-9808 |jstor=989082}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jellicoe |first=Geoffrey |date=1975 |title=Review of Two Brazilian Capitals |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=190 |doi=10.1017/S0022216X00017053 |issn=0022-216X |jstor=156298}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Serenyi |first=Peter |date=1975 |title=Review of Two Brazilian Capitals: Architecture and Urbanism in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília |journal=The Art Bulletin |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=461–463 |doi=10.2307/3049421 |issn=0004-3079 |jstor=3049421}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=C. T. |date=1976 |title=Review of Two Brazilian Capitals: Architecture and Urbanism in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília |journal=Urban History Yearbook |volume=[3] |pages=92–94 |issn=0306-0845 |jstor=44608968}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=1975 |title=Review of Two Brazilian Capitals: Architecture and Urbanism in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília |journal=The Town Planning Review |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=348 |issn=0041-0020 |jstor=40103138}}</ref> *''Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978'' (1979)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Collins |first=Peter |date=1980 |title=Review of Paris: A Century of Change 1878-1978 |journal=JAE |volume=33 |issue=4 |doi=10.2307/1424696 |issn=0149-2993 |jstor=1424696}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hydak |first=Michael G. |date=1982 |title=Review of Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978 |journal=The French Review |volume=55 |issue=6 |pages=931–932 |issn=0016-111X |jstor=390696}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kain |first=Roger |date=1981 |title=Review of Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978 |journal=Geographical Review |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=340–341 |doi=10.2307/214705 |issn=0016-7428 |jstor=214705}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maitland |first=Barry S. |date=1981 |title=Review of Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978 |journal=Leonardo |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=345 |doi=10.2307/1574658 |issn=0024-094X |jstor=1574658}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Olsen |first=Donald J. |date=1981 |title=Review of Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978 |journal=Urban History Yearbook |volume=[8] |pages=229–230 |issn=0306-0845 |jstor=44609338}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sutcliffe |first=Anthony |date=1980 |title=Review of Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978 |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=159–160 |doi=10.2307/989589 |issn=0037-9808 |jstor=989589}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=1980 |title=Review of Paris: A Century of Change, 1878-1978 |journal=The Wilson Quarterly |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=164–165 |issn=0363-3276 |jstor=40255825}}</ref> *''The Indian Metropolis: A View Toward the West'' (1989)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Archer |first=John |date=1992 |title=Review of An Imperial Vision: Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj; The Indian Metropolis: A View toward the West |journal=Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=85–87 |doi=10.2307/990642 |issn=0037-9808 |jstor=990642}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Anthony D. |date=1995 |title=Writing Colonial Space. A Review Article |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=541–554 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500019800 |issn=0010-4175 |jstor=179219}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Anthony |date=1990 |title=Review of The Indian Metropolis, A View Toward the West.; An Imperial Vision: Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj.; The Tradition of Indian Architecture, Continuity, Controversy and Change Since 1850. |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=964–967 |doi=10.2307/2058307 |issn=0021-9118 |jstor=2058307}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Melvin |first=Jeremy |date=1990 |title=Review of An Imperial Vision. Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj; The Indian Metropolis. A View toward the West; Continuity, Controversy and Change since 1850: The Tradition of Indian Architecture |journal=The Burlington Magazine |volume=132 |issue=1049 |pages=585–586 |issn=0007-6287 |jstor=884377}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Michell |first=George |date=1991 |title=Review of An Imperial Vision: Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj; The Indian Metropolis: A View towards the West; The Tradition of Indian Architecture: Continuity, Controversy and Change Since 1850 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=602–603 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X0000118X |issn=0041-977X |jstor=619089}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Olsen |first=Donald J. |date=1991 |title=Review of The Indian Metropolis: A View toward the West |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=96 |issue=3 |pages=936–937 |doi=10.2307/2162585 |issn=0002-8762 |jstor=2162585}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evenson, Norma}}

Category:1928 births Category:2021 deaths Category:20th-century American women academics Category:20th-century American historians Category:American women historians Category:American architectural historians Category:Historians of urban planning Category:Historians of India Category:Historians of France Category:George Washington University alumni Category:Catholic University of America alumni Category:American University alumni Category:Yale University alumni Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty Category:Writers from Minneapolis Category:Historians from Minnesota