The Bradbury Building

[slaytonf]

The showing of D.O.A tonight highlitghts one of the most famous locations for film and TV, the Bradbury Building. While the exterior, though nothing to scoff at, is not exceptional, the interior is one of the most extraordinary interior spaces of any building I have ever been in, with its soaring atrium and marvelous ironwork. It was used in many films and TV shows, including the present one, Chinatown, Blade Runner, an Outer Limits episode (Demon With a Glass Hand), and The Night Strangler. It was in danger of being torn down (as with many remarkable old buildings), but was saved and restored.

[misswonderly3]

> {quote:title=slaytonf wrote:}{quote}The showing of D.O.A tonight highlitghts one of the most famous locations for film and TV, the Bradbury Building. While the exterior, though nothing to scoff at, is not exceptional, the interior is one of the most extraordinary interior spaces of any building I have ever been in, with its soaring atrium and marvelous ironwork. It was used in many films and TV shows, including the present one, Chinatown, Blade Runner, an Outer Limits episode (Demon With a Glass Hand), and The Night Strangler. *It was in danger of being torn down (as with many remarkable old buildings), but was saved and restored.*

slayton, everytime I hear about an old building being demolished, I feel an almost physical sense of loss and sadness. And everytime I hear that one has been saved from the wrecking ball ( yes, I bolded your last sentence), I rejoice.

I love old buildings, and whenever I walk in an old neighbourhood or an old part of a city that has many old buildings and houses, I try to imagine that I'm back in time, that it really is the 1890s, or the 20s or 40s or whatever - just not now, 2012 ! It's getting harder and harder to do this however, because more and more old structures are being knocked down to be replaced by ugly box stores or fast food outlets or hideous condominiums. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time.

 

Edited by: misswonderly on Jan 2, 2012 11:03 AM

Anyone else feel this way about old architecture, old buildings still standing in rapidly developing cities? (I think this is a very interesting topic, and in a roundabout way, very connected to our love of old movies.)

[EugeniaH]

*Anyone else feel this way about old architecture, old buildings still standing in rapidly developing cities? (I think this is a very interesting topic, and in a roundabout way, very connected to our love of old movies.)*

 

misswonderly, I wanted to respond to your post yesterday, so I'm glad you asked this question. I feel this way very strongly.

 

Pertaining to old Hollywood, as written elsewhere I got The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History, which is as much about the town's geography and its buildings as the stars of the day. There were so many photos of beautiful buildings, the architecture that really screamed out that the builders were true craftsman. Anyway, all too many times as I read the descriptions of these structures it always ended with "(demolished)". By the time I got to the photos of Hollywood in the last few decades it was almost too painful to look at, it looked so deteriorated and ugly. (Though I read they are working on improving it).

 

Personally, I grew up on Long Island and where I lived there are/were some wonderful old estates that were built in the 1920s. Many of these fell into neglect and had to be knocked down.