Jim Thorpe Office Building

Capitol Office Building

A capital campaign began in late 1936 for a new capitol office building. A plan was enacted to raise the funds and have the capitol oil revenue contribute to the campaign. This was expected to bring in an additional $200,000 to the fund.

But not everyone was gung ho about the project. Out of twelve proposals submitted by Gov. Marland to the special session, this one received the most opposition. Organized laborers in OKC and in Tulsa came to aid the Governor with a campaign to swing support of anti-administration legislators to the proposed million-dollar capitol office building. Supporters argued the project would be OKC’s next source of mass employment. “We’re going to do all we can to convince members of the Legislature here and from Tulsa of the need for the building,” said Leonard Dickerson of the Central Trades and Labor Council.

Around the close of the fiscal year of 1936, there was a cash surplus of around $2 million. Talks of how exactly to use the surplus were thrown around and one of those ideas was to allocate a million to aid the new capitol office building campaign.

Additionally, the PWA was approached to see if additional funds could be secured. The office building which was originally set to bear Governor Marland’s name had to be changed to conform to the PWA regulations. But unfortunately, they still didn’t secure funding and in 1937 the Legislature agreed to provide the million dollars for the project that was originally promised. After some back and forth between the Board of Affairs instead of going back to the Marland Office Building, it was simply called the State Office Building.

John D. Forsyth, a popular Tulsa architect, was brought onto the project along with Bellows Construction Co. which had the lowest bid of $529,000 against Rinehart & Donovan and Leo Sanders.

Formal acceptance of the building would come just after the new year of 1939, almost two years after construction first began. It would be about two weeks before any department would move in and the first one would most likely be the Oklahoma Public Welfare Department. The office structure was set to have the tax commission in the basement and first floor, the welfare department on the second floor. The state highway department would occupy the fourth and fifth floors, criminal bureau of investigation on the sixth floor.

Jim Thorpe Office Building/Renovations

In the early 1960s, the building started becoming known as the Jim Thorpe Office Building. It also during this time period got a facelift, keeping the historic features. Since then the building has continued to become dilapidated and were in desperate need of attention if the office building was going to continue to be occupied.

Renovations for the dated building were announced in the summer of 2023. A ceremonial groundbreaking of the renovations was held on October 23, 2023. Brandy Wreath, chairman of the Jim Thorpe Repair Expenditure Oversight Committee; Nathan Wald, OMES Capital Assets Management administrator; and state Rep. Mark McBride delivered remarks.

It will undergo comprehensive interior and exterior repairs, refurbishment and remodeling, but its historical integrity will be preserved. Funded with $70 million through House Bill 3571, the project aims to optimize workflow within the space and ensure compliance with modern building codes, Americans with Disability Act standards and other essential elements for a functional, collaborative work environment for state occupants.

Historic Pictures of Jim Thorpe Office Building

Gallery Below of Jim Thorpe Office Building

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