There are many things to do and see in Los Angeles, and among them are important landmarks and buildings that characterize it and that have often become movie sets for films that have made movie history. And that is exactly what happened to the Bradbury Building, one of the city’s most important historic buildings. Let’s take a look together at its history, the features that made it famous, and how to visit it.
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What is the Bradbury Building?
The Bradbury Building was built in 1893 and is the oldest building in all of Los Angeles. The building, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971, is one of only four commercial buildings in the city to be on the list of National Historic Monuments. It was built by millionaire Lewis L. Bradbury, who lived between 1823 and 1892.
The architect to whom Bradbury entrusted the project was Sumner Hunt, although the tycoon later preferred the more futuristic ideas of one of Hunt’s collaborators, George Wyman. Wyman, in fact, was inspired by Edward Bellamy’s science fiction novel Looking Backward, published in 1887, in which a particular building in the dystopian society described in the book was illuminated by natural light through huge windows and a wide vault. This idea immediately appealed to Bradbury and he asked the architect to build something similar. Unfortunately, he died before he saw the building he had commissioned and so longed for finished.
In the 1980s, Ira Yellin bought the Bradbury Building and invested $7 million in its renovation, including making it earthquake-proof, and transforming parts of the building to connect it to Biddy Mason Park and the Broadway Spring Center garage. In 2003 a Hong Kong investor bought it for $6 million.
How to Get There
The Bradbury Building is located at 304 South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.
To reach this famous historic building by public transportation you can take buses or the subway. By bus there are many useful stops, here are some very close to the building:
- number 4, 30, 40 or 45 and get off at the Broadway / 3rd Street stop, practically next to the Bradbury;
- the D line and get off at 3rd Street / Springs, about a 2-minute walk;
- number 94, get off at Hill Street / 3rd Street and walk about 3 minutes.
The nearest subway station, about a 3-minute walk, is Pershing Square, which serves the B, the red, and D, the purple, subway lines.
If you are driving, there are several private parking lots near the Bradbury, such as those on Hill Street at the intersection with 3rd Street and 4th Street. To make the best arrangements, please read our guides on renting a car in Los Angeles and getting around Los Angeles.
Visiting the Bradbury Building
Due to its history and many television and film appearances, the Bradbury Building is now considered one of the iconic buildings in downtown Los Angeles and thus should be seriously considered among the many attractions to include in a Los Angeles itinerary.
The building is accessible, but only one of its five floors is open to the public. The other floors are representative offices for major corporations such as Marvel, Red Line Tours, the independent think tank Berggruen Institute, local police, LAPD, and other government offices. The ground floor is still worth a visit, however, and admission is free with no reservation required.
My suggestion? Since it is close to other attractions, you could purchase a walking tour such as the Old and New Downtown Los Angeles that allows you to learn about and appreciate not only the Bradbury Building but also nearby neighborhoods such as the Historic Theater District, the Old Bank District, the Jewelry District, and other famous places such as Grand Central Market, L.A.’s historic market that has been active since 1917, and the world’s shortest railroad, the Angels Flight Railway (we also discussed this in our article on Downtown Los Angeles attractions).
Bradbury Building Movies
The Bradbury Building consists of five floors. On the outside it has a neo-Renaissance style with a facade of red brick, sandstone, and terracotta details. The best place to admire and photograph it from on the outside is at the corner of South Broadway and West 3rd Street. But the interior of the building is what really makes it a marvel: the sunlit atrium, wrought-iron staircases, elevators, cast-iron and marble decorations, walkways and skylights create a timeless atmosphere.
And it is precisely this uniqueness that made it the perfect setting for scenes from masterpiece films, one among them 1982’s Blade Runner. Ridley Scott chose this very building for J.F. Sebastian’s apartment and rooftop scene. The Bradbury Building has appeared in many films since the 1940s, in 2011’s The Artist, in various television series such as Perry Mason, Fame, FlashForward, Bosch, in novels, and in music videos by artists such as Cher, Janet Jackson, Phil Seymour, Genesis, and Justin Timberlake.
It would be nice to be able to visit all five floors, but even just the ground floor, the only one that can be visited, will give you a sense of the uniqueness and charm that this building has been able to convey to its visitors for over a century now.
Where to Stay in the Area
If you are wondering whether or not you should stay in Downtown L.A. (the area where the Bradbury is located), my answer is undoubtedly yes. Downtown L.A. is the financial and economic heart of the city, and although it is not a particularly lively neighborhood in the evenings, it is full of things to do and see, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Central Market, numerous museums, and, of course, the Bradbury Building. In addition, downtown has good connections to the rest of the city, and using it as a base for commuting can be a winning choice. We cover this in more depth in our guide on where to stay in Los Angeles.
I also suggest that you read our article on a possible walking itinerary between Bunker Hill and the Financial District to better appreciate Downtown Los Angeles and not miss anything about this famous area of the City of Angels where past and future are intertwined linking the fiction of the city’s cinematic soul with everyday reality and modernity.