Holcombe Law Office Building

The Holcombe Law Office building, located at 700 Kihekah Ave. in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, was built in 1925. Its construction at the time represented the joining of the Journal newspaper and the Capital newspaper. From then, until Steve and Susie Holcombe purchased the building in 2018, it was simply known to generations of Pawhuskans as the Pawhuska Journal-Capital Building.

The Holcombes purchased the building to be the location of Steve's law office.  It was a "diamond in the rough" and needed a lot of rehab but the 16 foot ceilings were preserved and a 1910’s era gas/electric chandelier (converted to just electric) was installed over the foyer entrance. Lots of new walls were built and the grandkids got to sign and date them before the gypsum wall boards went up.  Huge, bay windows were revealed at the front entrance of the building facing Kihekah Avenue and 7th Street.  One of them had to be replaced due to a large bullet hole which was likely the product of a disgruntled newspaper reader in the late 1950s, or so Steve has heard. A family member of one of the former editors inquired if there was still a picture frame with a bullet hole in. No, long gone but an intriguing request!  The Holcombes were proud to use local businesses for everything from construction, plumbing, HVAC, painting and electric. The building is now owned by Kihekah Properties, LLC, an entity owned and controlled by Steve and Susie.

If you visit you can see the Holcombe’s love for family, heritage and culture throughout the building with everything from family photos, pre-statehood licenses to practice law issued to Marion Lee Holcombe, a paternal great, great grandfather who came to Pawhuska circa 1917, works of art both native and abstract, and even a 48-star American flag given to Steve's maternal grandmother, Jesse Mae Theis, a long time teacher, in honor of her retirement in the early 1960's.

In early 2021 the Holcombes were approached by Apple Studios about filming the building as part of a 1920's cityscape for Martin Scorcese's movie, Killers of the Flower Moon. Kihekah Properties LLC and Apple Studios combined resources to give the outside of the building a face lift including the removal of a low-pitched metal roof that revealed long hidden cornice lines and architectural features of the period. Filming occurred in the spring and summer of 2021 for the movie expected to be released in late 2022.

When the Holcombes purchased the building, numerous original printings of newspapers were left with them dating all the way back to the 1910s. A number of the old newspapers were examined and then borrowed by the Oklahoma Historical Society to be imaged for posterity.

The Holcombes are pleased to be the current stewards of one of the 1920's landmarks in downtown Pawhuska, and the history contained within its walls.