The Bradbury Building is an

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

, California, United States. Built in 1893, 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 architect

George Wyman George Herbert Wyman (1860 – 1939) was an American architect, best known for his involvement in construction of the Bradbury Building at 304 South Broadway in Los Angeles, California. Life and career Wyman was born in Dayton, the son of El ...

from the original design by

Sumner Hunt Sumner P. Hunt (Brooklyn, New York state, May 8, 1865 – Los Angeles, California, November 19, 1938) was an architect in Los Angeles from 1888 to the 1930s. On January 21, 1892, he married Mary Hancock Chapman. They had a daughter Louise Hunt. ...

. 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

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1977, one of only four office buildings in Los Angeles to be so honored. It was also designated a landmark by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission and is the city's oldest landmarked building.

History

19th century

Lewis L. Bradbury, Sr. (November 6, 1823 – July 15, 1892)Wakim, Marielle
"It Happened This Week in L.A. History: The City Mourns Lewis L. Bradbury"
''

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

'' (July 16, 1892) was a 19th century millionaire who made his fortune in mining and real estate—he owned the Tajo Mine in

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

, Mexico—who became a real estate developer in the later part of his life. In 1892 he began planning to construct a five-story building at Broadway and Third Street in Los Angeles, close to the Bunker Hill neighborhood. A local architect,

, was hired to design the building, and turned in a completed design,"Bradbury Building"
on the

Los Angeles Conservancy The Los Angeles Conservancy is a historic preservation organization in Los Angeles, California that works to document, rescue and revitalize historic buildings, places and neighborhoods in the city. The Los Angeles Conservancy is the largest m ...

website but Bradbury dismissed Hunt's plans as inadequate to the grand building he wanted. He then hired

, one of Hunt's

draftsmen A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types of ...

, to do the design. Bradbury supposedly felt that Wyman understood his own vision of the building better than Hunt did, but there is no concrete evidence that Wyman changed Hunt's design, which has raised some controversy about who should be considered to be the architect of the building. Wyman had no formal education as an architect, and was working for Hunt for $5 a week at the time. Bradbury entryway 2011

The building opened in 1893, some months after Bradbury's death in 1892, and was completed in 1894, at the total cost of $500,000, about three times the original budget of $175,000.Ferrell, David
"The Bradbury Sparkles as Jewel in City Landscape"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' (October 10, 2002)

20th century

The building has operated as an

office building An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

for most of its history. It was designated a

in 1977. It was purchased by developer and champion of downtown restoration Ira Yellin in the early 1980s, who invested $7 million in restoration, preservation and seismic retrofitting between 1989 and 1991. As part of the restoration, a storage area at the south end of the building was converted to a new rear-entrance

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

, connecting the building more directly to Biddy Mason Park and the adjacent Broadway Spring Center parking garage. The building's lighting system was also redesigned, bringing in

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

wall sconces from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Since 1996, the building has served as the headquarters for the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

's Internal Affairs division"LAPD Unit to Move to Historic Building"
''

'' (February 13, 1996) 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." The LAPD has a 50-year lease on their space.

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, a reflection of Yellin's commitment to downtown preservation and restoration. 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". From 2001 to 2003 the

Museum of Architecture and Design A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

had its home there. In 2007, the Morono Kiang Gallery of Chinese art opened in the building. 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

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

purchased a

stiletto A stiletto (plural stilettos) is a specialized dagger with a long slender blade and needle-like point, primarily intended as a thrusting and stabbing weapon.Limburg, Peter R., ''What's In The Names Of Antique Weapons'', Coward, McCann & Geoghega ...

that figured in his murder trial, a Subway sandwich restaurant, a

Blue Bottle Coffee Blue Bottle Coffee, Inc., is a coffee roaster and retailer once headquartered in Oakland, California, United States. In 2017, a majority stake in the company was acquired by Nestlé (68%). It is a major player in third wave coffee. The company f ...

shop, and a real estate sales office for loft conversions in other nearby historic buildings. , the

Berggruen Institute The Berggruen Institute is a Los Angeles-based think tank founded by Nicolas Berggruen. History Berggruen Institute was formed in 2010 by founder Nicolas Berggruen and co-founder Nathan Gardels as a global network of "thinkers" dedicated to ...

maintains its offices in the building. , a new co-working space operated by the property management company of the building, Downtown Properties, has officially opened called Bradbury Studios. It includes soft seating in the atrium, conference and meeting rooms, event spaces, and the private speakeasy called the Wyman Bar operated by

NeueHouse NeueHouse provides collaborative workspace, private offices, event and meeting space. History NeueHouse was founded in 2011 by Joshua Abram, Alan Murray and James O'Reilly. Its first workspace opened in May 2013 in New York alongside a hardcove ...

exclusively available to building tenants, social members, and their guests.

Architecture

The building's undistinguished exterior facade of brown brick,

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

and

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

detailing was designed in the commercial vernacular Italian Renaissance Revival style current at the time. Its interior is its most notable part. 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" center court.

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Foster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019), known professionally as Robert Forster, was an American actor. He made his screen debut as Private L.G. Williams in John Huston's '' Reflections in a Golden Eye'' (1967), followed ...

, star of the TV series ''

Banyon ''Banyon'' is a detective series broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of its 1972–73 television schedule, though a standalone two-hour television movie was broadcast first in March 1971. The series was a Quinn Martin Production (in a ...

'' 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." The five-story central court features glazed and unglazed yellow and pink bricks, ornamental cast iron, tiling, Italian marble, Mexican tile, decorative

and polished wood, capped by a

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

that allows the court to be flooded with natural rather than artificial light, creating ever-changing shadows and accents during the day. At the time the building was completed, it featured the largest plate-glass windows in Los Angeles. Open "bird-cage" elevators surrounded by

wrought-iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

grillwork go up to the fifth floor. Geometric patterned staircases and wrought-iron and polished oak railings are used abundantly throughout. The wrought-iron was created in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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".

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.

Brochure A brochure is an promotional document primarily used to introduce a company, organization, products, or services and inform prospective customers or members of the public of the benefits. Although, initially, a paper document that can be folded ...

s and tours are also available. It is close to three other downtown Los Angeles landmarks: the

Grand Central Market Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

, the

Million Dollar Theater The Million Dollar Theatre at 307 S. Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles is one of the first movie palaces built in the United States. It opened in 1917 with the premiere of William S. Hart's '' The Silent Man''. It's the northernmost of the col ...

(across the street) and

Angels Flight Angels Flight is a landmark and historic narrow-gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, named ''Olivet'' and ''Sinai'', that run in opposite directions on a shared ...

(two blocks away). Access is via the

Los Angeles Metro Rail The Los Angeles Metro Rail is an urban rail transit system serving Los Angeles County, California, United States, consisting of six lines: four light rail lines (the A, C, E and K lines) and two rapid transit lines (the B and D lines), ...

B and D lines at

Civic Center/Grand Park station Civic Center/Grand Park station is an underground rapid transit station on the B Line and D Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station also has street level stops for the J Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system. The statio ...

, three blocks distant.

Gallery

File:Bradbury Building 1894.jpg, 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. File:Bradbury Building4.jpg, Front entrance File:Bradbury Building5.jpg, Oblique view of central atrium from balcony File:Bradbury Building8.jpg, Detail of stairway ironwork File:Bradbury Fire,1947 crop.jpg, A fire in the building in 1947 File:Bradbury Atrium.jpg, Atrium File:Bradbury_building_lobby_and_ceiling.jpg, The building's distinctive open elevator shafts and large glass skylight File:Bradbury-elevator-Jan 2012.jpg, Elevator detail File:Bradbury-elevator detail-Jan 2012.jpg, 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. Most notably, the building is a setting in the 1982 science fiction film ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

'', for the character J. F. Sebastian's apartment, and the climactic rooftop scene. The Bradbury Building appeared in the noir films '' The Unfaithful'' (1947), ''

Shockproof ''Shockproof'' is a 1949 American crime film noir directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Patricia Knight and Cornel Wilde. Wilde and Knight were husband and wife during filming. They divorced in 1951. Plot Griff Marat (Cornel Wilde), is a paro ...

'' (1949), '' D.O.A.'' (1950) and ''

I, The Jury ''I, the Jury'' is the 1947 debut novel of American crime fiction writer Mickey Spillane, the first work to feature private investigator Mike Hammer. Plot summary Private detective Mike Hammer is called to the apartment of insurance investig ...

'' (1953) (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 A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

hotel depicted in the climax of ''

Good Neighbor Sam ''Good Neighbor Sam'' is a 1964 American Eastman Color screwball comedy film co-written and directed by David Swift, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Jack Finney. It stars Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, Dorothy Provine, Michael C ...

'' (1964). The building is also featured in ''China Girl'' (1942), ''

The White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover are the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...

'' (1944), ''

Indestructible Man ''Indestructible Man'' is a 1956 American crime horror science fiction film, an original screenplay by Vy Russell and Sue Dwiggins for producer-director Jack Pollexfen and starring Lon Chaney Jr., Ross Elliott, and Robert Shayne. The pict ...

'' (1956), ''

Caprice Caprice, from the Italian ''capriccio'', may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Caprice'' (1913 film), a film starring Mary Pickford * ''Caprices'' (film), a 1942 French comedy film * ''Caprice'' (1967 film), a film starring Richard Harris ...

'' (1967), ''

Marlowe Marlowe may refer to: Name * Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters with the surname or given name * Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator * Pat Marlowe (1933–1962), English socialite * Phili ...

'' (1969), the 1972 made-for-television movie '' The Night Strangler'', ''

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

'' (1974), ''

The Cheap Detective ''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American Mystery film, mystery comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore (director), Robert Moore. It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a parody of Humphrey Bogart. The film is a parody ...

'' (1978), '' Avenging Angel'' (1985), ''

Murphy's Law Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...

'' (1986), ‘’ Midnight Cabaret’’ (1990), ''

The Dreamer of Oz ''The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story'' is a 1990 American television film, made-for-television biographical film starring John Ritter as L. Frank Baum, Lyman Frank Baum, the author who wrote the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' (1990), ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

'' (1994), ''

Lethal Weapon 4 ''Lethal Weapon 4'' is a 1998 American buddy cop action film directed and produced by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, and Jet Li (in his international film debut). It is the fourth ins ...

'' (1998), ''

Pay It Forward Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others rather than paying it back to the original benefactor. It is also called serial reciprocity. The concept is old, but the particular ph ...

'' (2000), ''

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film was released on December 15, 2000 by ...

'' (2000), ''

(500) Days of Summer ''(500) Days of Summer'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Marc Webb, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as Tom and Summer r ...

'' (2009) and '' The Artist'' (2011). Television series that featured the building include the 1964 ''

The Outer Limits ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' episode "

Demon with a Glass Hand "Demon with a Glass Hand" is an episode of the American television series ''The Outer Limits'', the second to be based on a script by Harlan Ellison, which Ellison wrote specifically with actor Robert Culp in mind for the lead role. It originall ...

", and the 1962 ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'' episode " The Case of the Double-Entry Mind". During the season six episodes (1963–64) of the series ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'', the Stuart "Stu" Bailey character had his office in the Bradbury. In ''

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

'' the building is seen carrying the name "Gotham Towers" in " Play It Again, Seymour", the last episode of the first season (1989). The building appeared in at least one episode of the television series ''

'' (1972–73), where it was used as

's office,MobileReference
''Travel Los Angeles: City Guide and Map''
2007. '' City of Angels'' (1976) and '' Mission: Impossible'' (1966–73), as well as Ned and Chuck's Apartment in ''

Pushing Daisies ''Pushing Daisies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007, to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to lif ...

'', which debuted in 2007. The building was also the setting for a scene from the series ''

FlashForward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...

'' in the episode " Let No Man Put Asunder". In 2010 the building was transplanted to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for a two-part episode of '' CSI: NY''. The Bradbury Building and a fake New York City subway entrance across the street were also used to represent the exterior of New York's

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...

in the opening credits of the television series '' Fame''. The building appears as itself in multiple episodes of the fourth season of

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

' original series '' Bosch'', in both exterior establishing shots and interior shots. The Bradbury appeared in a 1979 music video for "Take Me Home" by

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, in addition to

music videos A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

from the 1980s by

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Earth Wind and Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling band ...

Phil Seymour Philip Warren Seymour (May 15, 1952 – August 17, 1993) was an American drummer, singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for the singles " I'm on Fire" (with The Dwight Twilley Band), his own solo hit "Precious to Me" and for providing b ...

and

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

, and a

Pontiac Pursuit The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a coupe a ...

commercial. Part of Janet Jackson's 1989 film short ''

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 ''Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814'' (also simply known as ''Rhythm Nation 1814 or Rhythm Nation'') is the fourth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson, first released on September 13, 1989 in Europe and six days later in the United Sta ...

'' was filmed in the building as well. The interior appears in the music video for

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

' 1980 song, "

He's So Shy "He's So Shy" is a song by the American girl group Pointer Sisters from their seventh studio album, '' Special Things'' (1980). Written, originally as "She's So Shy" and intended for Leo Sayer, in December 1979 by Tom Snow and Cynthia Weil, "He' ...

". The Bradbury Building was prominently featured in Monica's 1998 single "

The First Night "The First Night" is a song by American singer Monica for her second studio album, '' The Boy Is Mine'' (1998). It was written by Tamara Savage and Jermaine Dupri, featuring production and additional vocals from the latter. Built around a sampl ...

" as well in

Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! is an American R&B/Soul band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'Wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq (born Char ...

's "Let's Get Down" music video. In 2016, the interiors were featured in the music video for "The Road" by Chinese musician

Huang Zitao Huang Zitao ( zh, s=黄子韬, p=Huáng Zǐtāo; born May 2, 1993), also known by his stage name Tao, is a Chinese rapper. He is a former member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo and its Chinese sub-unit, Exo-M. After leaving Exo, he ma ...

. The building was used in the music video for "

Icy Icy commonly refers to conditions involving ice, a frozen state, usually referring to frozen water. Icy or Icey may also refer to: People * Icy Spicy Leoncie, an Icelandic-Indian musician Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ICY (band), a vocal ...

", a 2019 song by South Korean girl group

Itzy Itzy (; Japanese language, Japanese: イッチ; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group consists of five members: Yeji (singer), Yeji, Lia (South Korean singer), Lia, Ryujin (rapper), Ryujin, Chae ...

. The Bradbury has frequently appeared in popular literature. In the "Nathan Heller" series of

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

s by

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic literature. His work has been published in several formats, such as his '' Ms. Tree'' series and his '' Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a fi ...

, Heller's A-1 Detective Agency's Los Angeles offices are housed in the Bradbury, as shown in the novel ''Angel in Black''. In the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' novel ''The Case of the Colonist's Corpse: A Sam Cogley Mystery'', the protagonist works from the Bradbury Building four hundred years in the future. Other appearances occur in ''The Man With The Golden Torc'' by Simon R. Green, ''

'' '' The Black Box'', and "The Drop," by

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

, and the science-fiction multiple novel series ''The World of Tiers'' by

Philip Jose Farmer Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the n ...

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

and

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

—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 DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

, the

Human Target The Human Target is the name of two characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, while the second is private investigator and bodyguard Christopher Chance who assumes the identities of clients targeted by a ...

runs his private investigation agency from the building. The building was used for the music video for " Say Something", a song released on January 25, 2018 by

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

featuring

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American country singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Kentucky, Stapleton moved to Nashville in 1996 to study for an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, but dropped out to pur ...

. The Bradbury Building was featured in "On Location", episode 172 of the podcast ''

99% Invisible ''99% Invisible'' is a radio show and podcast produced and created by Roman Mars that focuses on design. It began as a collaborative project between San Francisco public radio station KALW and the American Institute of Architects in San Franc ...

''. The building interior was shown in the title sequence for the TV series ''

The Ray Bradbury Theater ''The Ray Bradbury Theatre'' is an anthology series that ran for three seasons on Crave (TV network), First Choice Movie Central, Superchannel in Canada and HBO in the United States from 1985 to 1986, and then on USA Network, running for four ad ...

'', which aired from 1985 to 1992.

References

External links

The Bradbury Building
* – Bradbury Building, A History
Los Angeles Conservancy

Blade Runner Film Locations
University of Southern California's L.A. Walking Tour

Inside the Bradbury Building webinar
{{LABTCD Office buildings in Los Angeles Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles Commercial buildings completed in 1893 Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles National Historic Landmarks in California Office buildings completed in 1893 1893 establishments in California 19th century in Los Angeles Historic American Buildings Survey in California Sumner Hunt buildings Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States Renaissance Revival architecture in California Romanesque Revival architecture in California Chicago school architecture in California Broadway (Los Angeles) 3rd Street (Los Angeles) Human Target Historic district contributing properties in California