Clever Confidential Ep. 2: The Supernatural Beginnings of The Bradbury Building
At the corner of 3rd and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles sits an imposing 78,000 square foot office building. From the street, it doesn’t look like much. In fact, with its heavy brown sandstone brick facade, the squat structure is even a little oppressive. But the building’s exterior is hardly the point...far from it.
Step inside and join us as we explore the supernatural beginnings of Hollywood’s biggest architectural star, the Bradbury Building!
Join Amy Devers, co-host and partner in crime, Andrew Wagner, and very special guests, Esotouric’s Kim Cooper and Richard Schave on this second episode of Clever Confidential, our offshoot podcast where we dig into the lesser told stories of the darker side of design. Hear the stories of the shadowy—sometimes sordid—tales hiding under a glossy top coat of respectable legacy.
For design geeks, there’s no question who the biggest star in Hollywood is. Born and raised in downtown Los Angeles this stunner has over 20 films, countless television episodes, and many, many commercial cameos under its belt. Throw in its star turns in some of America’s most important literature plus its ability to genre hop in so many music videos and it's hard to argue its role as a cultural powerhouse.
It’s also hard to miss. Standing five stories tall and measuring 78,000 square feet, the Bradbury Building has been turning heads since its opening in 1893. But unlike many of its human Hollywood cohorts, the Bradbury is not about what’s on the outside but what’s on the inside.
The Bradbury waits to reveal its other-worldly magnetism until guests have stepped through its doors at 304 South Broadway. Traversing the low-ceilinged foyer from the non-descript front door will land visitors at the foot of one of the most magnificent skylit atriums in architecture.
From more than 50 feet above, the skylight floods the atrium with California sunlight that gently bounces off of golden brick walls surrounded by pristine—and surprisingly delicate looking—black wrought-iron staircases flanked by two remarkable, ornate elevator wells and free-standing, wrought-iron clad mail chutes. The building, in all its “mesmerizing symmetry and visual complexity,” as writer David Ferrell has put it, renders all who enter speechless.
This being Hollywood, there is, of course, much more to this story than just a pretty face. And this being Clever Confidential, there are questions. And mysteries. And a lot of unknowns.
How did the architect of record, George Wyman, a 32-year-old draftsman with no architectural credits to his name at this point, manage to create one of the most remarkable buildings in the United States, if not the world?
How was it that Wyman, despite designing numerous other buildings (most of which have now been torn down) did not do anything of particular note after the Bradbury? Did Wyman expend all of his creative energy on this one epic structure? Did it take everything out of him? Did he have nothing left to give?
Photo via Luke Jones, Flickr
Or was this a case of stolen intellectual property?
Or could this have even been a brush with the supernatural?
What do you think?
For more on the Bradbury Building, check out Esotouric’s awesome webinar for an excellent deep dive into everything happening at 3rd and Broadway in Los Angeles.
Screencap from the film Blade Runner. Photo source
See The Bradbury in all its Hollywood glory (this is not an exhaustive list, of course!):
Films:
- Blade Runner
- Double Indemnity
- The Artist
- M (1951)
- 500 Days of Summer
- TV Series “Fame”
- Tony! Toni! Toné! music video “Let’s Get Down”
Many thanks to our guest experts, Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric. More about Esotouric: Although Esotouric's in-person tours have been paused since March, Kim and Richard can be found every Saturday at noon Pacific time, presenting an all-new immersive cultural history webinar to Los Angeles history lovers around the world. Past webinar themes (all available On-Demand) include Raymond Chandler, The Black Dahlia, Angels Flight Railway, Grand Central Market, Cafeteria History and Lost Bunker Hill. And their first, naturally, was about the greatest building in Los Angeles: the Bradbury!
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There are many more stories like this that need to be told, including the Taliesin Axe Murders and Louis Kahn’s Untimely Demise in New York City’s squalid Penn Station.
We are excited to make Clever Confidential a series but we need to hear from you! Please drop us a line via social media (@cleverpodcast), or via email hello@cleverpodcast.com. Tell us what you like. What you don’t. And what other stories we should pursue. We can’t wait to work with you, our amazing listeners, to make the stories on Clever Confidential… not so confidential.
Credits:
Hosts: Amy Devers & Andrew Wagner
Writing and research: Amy Devers & Andrew Wagner
Guests: Kim Cooper & Richard Schave of Esotouric
Production: 2VDE Media
Editing and Sound Design: Camille Stennis
Theme Music: “Astronomy” by Thin White Rope courtesy of Frontier Records
Logo design: Laura Jaramillo
Special thanks to the sponsors of this episode:
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Curiosity is what drove us to create Clever and curiosity about design, creativity and the human experience is what keeps us going. We never stop learning, so whether you’re a beginner, a hobbyist, or a seasoned pro, there is always another skill to master, or technique to perfect.
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