Bradbury Building, 304 South Broadway, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA

Significance: The Bradbury Building, built in 1893, is a fine example of multi-story structure designed around an inner glazed court, with splendid art nouveau iron work in open stairways, open elevator cages and balcony rails. It is a remnant of the Cast Iron Age, which began with the iron bridges in the early half of the 19th century and ended in the last decade of the century when steel framing took over. It is a lineal descendant of Labrouste's 1858 Bibliotheque Nationale and Eiffel's 1876 Bon Marche' department store, with their exposed iron stairways which were a part of the architectural design, and their glazed roofs. (The roots of iron framing and glazed roofs are, of course, much deeper than the middle of the 19th century.) The aesthetic quality of the Bradbury Building is largely derived from the superb environment of an inner court flooded with light. It is an early and excellent example of a break with facade architecture and the acknowledgment of the unpleasantness of a busy city street. By treating the inner court as facades, the architect has supplied an off-street leisurely and enriched space which denies the bustle of Broadway and Third Street. The building is a mecca for architectural students, and because of its dramatic force it is frequently used as a set for motion picture and television films. It is the one pure delight in the old Downtown core.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-206
Survey number: HABS CA-334
Building/structure dates: 1893 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 71000144