Bradbury Building, Renaissance Revival office building in Downtown Los Angeles, United States
The Bradbury Building is an office building in Renaissance Revival style located in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The central atrium extends across five floors and is lit by a large glass ceiling, while marble staircases, wrought iron railings, and open-cage elevators define the interior.
Lewis L. Bradbury hired Sumner Hunt in 1892 to design a five-story office building at Broadway and Third Street, then dismissed his plans and gave the job to Hunt's draftsman George Wyman. The building opened in 1893, months after Bradbury's death, and was completed in 1894 at a cost of $500,000 against an original budget of $175,000. A water source found near the site weakened the foundation, so Bradbury imported massive steel beams from Europe to reinforce it.
The name honors gold mining entrepreneur Lewis Bradbury, whose vision of a modern office building with an open interior space was unusual for the late 1800s. Today the building houses both government offices and private tenants who work in the historical spaces and use the central atrium as a gathering point.
The building is located at 304 South Broadway and is open to visitors during daytime hours who can explore the ground floor. The cast-iron railings and historical elevators are still in operation, so visitors should move carefully through the atrium.
George Wyman first turned down the commission; according to the German account, he accepted only after receiving a message from his deceased brother at a planchette session. His design drew on the utopian novel Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy. The building later appeared in Double Indemnity, Chinatown and Blade Runner.
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