Bradbury Building

A small office building on Broadway with one of the most extraordinary interiors in California — a five-storey atrium of glazed brick, wrought-iron stair rails, and open-cage elevators flooded with light from above. The architect, George Wyman, was an untrained draughtsman who claimed the design came from a spiritual consultation.

The building is still in commercial use, so public access is limited to the ground floor and the first landing of the stairs. Best seen on a sunny morning. The interior features in the original Blade Runner and dozens of other films.

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A story
The architect George Wyman accepted the commission in 1892 only after consulting a planchette ouija board on which his dead brother Mark had apparently spelled out "take the Bradbury job and you will be successful." The result was an unprecedented atrium of wrought-iron, polished wood, and yellow brick that fills with light through the glass roof.