Bradbury Building
Bradbury Building | |
Location | 304 South Broadway Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 34°3′1.93″N 118°14′52.30″W / 34.0505361°N 118.2478611°W |
Built | 1893[1] |
Architect | Sumner Hunt, George Wyman |
Architectural style | Italian Renaissance Revival, Romanesque Revival, Chicago School |
NRHP reference No. | 71000144 |
LAHCM No. | 6 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 14, 1971[3] |
Designated NHL | May 5, 1977[4] |
Designated LAHCM | September 21, 1962[2] |
The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. Built in 1893,[1] the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork. The building was commissioned by Los Angeles gold-mining millionaire Lewis L. Bradbury and constructed by draftsman George Wyman from the original design by Sumner Hunt.[5] It appears in numerous works of fiction and has been the site of many movie and television shoots and music videos.
The building was added to the
History
19th century
Lewis L. Bradbury, Sr. (November 6, 1823 – July 15, 1892)
The building opened in 1893, some months after Bradbury's death in 1892,[9] and was completed in 1894, at the total cost of $500,000,[6] about three times the original budget of $175,000.[15]
20th century
The building has operated as an
Since 1996, the building has served as the headquarters for the Los Angeles Police Department's Internal Affairs division[19] and other government agencies. The LAPD Board of Rights holds officer discipline hearings here, and within the force it is given the nickname "the Ovens", because officers see it as the place they "get burned."[20] The LAPD has a 50-year lease on their space.[19]
21st century
The building was purchased for $6 million in 2003 by a Hong Kong investor, less than the $7 million Ira Yellin invested just to rehabilitate and seismically retrofit the structure after acquiring it in 1989,[21] a reflection of Yellin's commitment to downtown preservation and restoration.[21] It was never listed for sale, only offered to a select group of potential buyers who would respect its legacy and retain its character. The building, according to Yellin's widow Adele, at the time, was "in very good hands".[21]
From 2001 to 2003 the
Several of the offices are rented out to private concerns, including Red Line Tours. The retail spaces on the first floor currently house Ross Cutlery, where
As of 2018[update], the Berggruen Institute maintains its offices in the building.[26]
Architecture
The building's undistinguished exterior facade of brown brick, sandstone and terracotta detailing was designed in the commercial vernacular Italian Renaissance Revival style current at the time. Its interior is its most notable part.[27]
The narrow entrance lobby, with its low ceiling and minimal light "has the look of a Parisian alley of arched windows", and opens into a bright naturally lit great "awe-inspiring cathedral-like"[15] center court. Robert Forster, star of the TV series Banyon that used the building for his office, described it as "one of the great interiors of L.A. Outside it doesn't look like much, but when you walk inside, suddenly you're back a hundred and twenty years."[28]
The five-story central court features glazed and unglazed yellow and pink bricks,
Open "bird-cage" elevators surrounded by
Geometric patterned staircases and wrought-iron and polished oak railings are used abundantly throughout. The wrought-iron was created in France and displayed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair before being installed in the building. Freestanding mail-chutes also feature ironwork. The overall effect, according to a Los Angeles Times writer, is "a mesmerizing degree of symmetry and visual complexity".[15]
Tourism
The building is a popular tourist attraction. It is open daily and staffed by a government worker who provides historical background on it. Casual visitors are only permitted up to the first landing.
Gallery
-
When it opened in 1894, the Bradbury Building towered above its neighbors and became the southwestern anchor of the business district, then centered around First and Main.[29]
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Front entrance
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Oblique view of central atrium from balcony
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Detail of stairway ironwork
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A fire in the building in 1947
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Atrium
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The building's distinctive open elevator shafts and large glass skylight
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Elevator detail
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Detail of elevator metalwork
In popular culture
The Bradbury Building has been featured prominently as a setting in many films, television shows, and in literature—particularly in the science fiction genre.[30] Most notably, the building is a setting in the 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner, for the character J. F. Sebastian's apartment, and the climactic rooftop scene.[31]
The Bradbury Building appeared in the noir films Double Indemnity (1944),[32] The Unfaithful (1947), Shockproof (1949), D.O.A. (1950) and I, The Jury (1953) [33] (the latter filmed in 3-D). M (1951), a remake of the 1931 German film, contains a long search sequence filmed in the building, and a notable shot through the roof's skylight. The five-story atrium also substituted for the interior of the seedy skid row hotel depicted in the climax of Good Neighbor Sam (1964).
The building is also featured in
Television series that featured the building include the 1964
The Bradbury appeared in a 1979 music video for "Take Me Home" by
The Bradbury has frequently appeared in popular literature. In the "Nathan Heller" series of
DC Comics and Marvel Comics—the latter of which has offices in the real Bradbury Building—both published comic book series based on characters that work in the historic landmark. The building serves as the headquarters for the Marvel Comics team The Order, and in the DC Universe, the Human Target runs his private investigation agency from the building.[30]
The building was used for the music video for "Say Something", a song released on January 25, 2018 by Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton.
The Bradbury Building was featured in "On Location", episode 172 of the podcast 99% Invisible.[39]
The building interior was shown in the title sequence for the TV series The Ray Bradbury Theater, which aired from 1985 to 1992.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Nomination Form. The National Register of Historic Places" (PDF).
- ^ Los Angeles Department of City Planning (September 7, 2007). "Historic - Cultural Monuments (HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Bradbury Building". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Bradbury Building" on the Los Angeles Conservancy website
- ^ a b c d e f g h "New Shine for an Old Gem: Renovated Bradbury Building is a credit to Los Angeles architecture". Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1991.
- ^ Muchnich, Suzanne. "Old Friends Meet Again : Bradbury Building, 98, Sits for Photographer, 80" Los Angeles Times (August 3, 1991)
- ^ "Bradbury Building Renovation" Los Angeles Times (November 12, 1989)
- ^ a b Wakim, Marielle. "It Happened This Week in L.A. History: The City Mourns Lewis L. Bradbury" Los Angeles (July 16, 1892)
- ^ "Louis L. Bradbury" on the Family History Machine" website
- ^ "Bradbury Family Papers: A Mexican-American Family's Story, 1876-1965" Archived 2014-01-12 at the Wayback Machine on the University of California, Davis University Library website
- ^ "Special Collections Exhibits". www.library.ucdavis.edu.
- ^ "Bradbury Family Papers A Mexican-American Family's Story, 1876-1965/".
- ^ Tarr, Jeremy (March 23, 2019). "10 Incredible, Insane, and Mostly True Stories About Downtown Los Angeles". Fodors Travel Guide. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Ferrell, David. "The Bradbury Sparkles as Jewel in City Landscape" Los Angeles Times (October 10, 2002)
- ^ Pitts, Carolyn (February 22, 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bradbury Building". National Park Service. and Accompanying 12 photos, exterior and interior, from 1971, 1965, and undated. (4.42 MB)
- ^ "Ira Yellin, 62; Civic Leader and Longtime Champion of the City's Historic Core". Los Angeles Times. September 11, 2002.
- ^ Latker, Loren. "Elevators at the Bradbury" on the Shamus Town website
- ^ a b "LAPD Unit to Move to Historic Building" Los Angeles Times (February 13, 1996)
- ^ Christopher Goffard; Joel Rubin & Kurt Streeter (December 8, 2013). "The Manhunt for Christopher Dorner". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Vincent, Roger (July 30, 2003). "Hong Kong Investor With Eye on the Past Acquires Landmark Bradbury Building". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- Architecture and Design Museum: Los Angeles website
- ^ Stevens, James. "Back to the Bradbury" Los Angeles Times (February 9, 2001)
- ^ Roug, Louise. "Another location for A + D" Los Angeles Times (December 21, 2003)
- ^ Muchnic, Suzanne. "An artful addition to Bradbury's interior" Los Angeles Times (June 24, 2007)
- ^ "This Star Trek Federation-Style Org Examines Human Transformation". PCMAG. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- ^ "The Bradbury Building" Archived 2014-01-12 at the Wayback Machine on the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles Chapter website
- ISBN 978-0-7864-3867-9.
- ^ "The Opening of North Broadway". Los Angeles Times. October 9, 1895. p. 6.
- ^ a b c d e "The Most Famous Building In Science Fiction". io9. February 6, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-85170-623-8. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
- ^ a b "8 Movies Featuring L.A.'s Architectural Movie Star, the Bradbury Building". May 24, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7385-8132-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-938817-07-8.
- ^ a b "Blade Runner Film Locations: Bradbury Building". BRmovie.com. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
- ^ "What Women Want". Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ISBN 9781605010366
- ^ "ZTAO - The Road". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "On Location - 99% Invisible". 99% Invisible. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
External links
- Public Art in L.A. Archived October 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine – Bradbury Building, A History
- Los Angeles Conservancy
- BRmovie.com Blade Runner Film Locations
- University of Southern California's L.A. Walking Tour
- Inside the Bradbury Building webinar