L.A.'s Famous Bradbury Building. Photo: Michael Imlay
“Take Bradbury Building. It will make you famous…” That was the message George Wyman supposedly received from his dead brother, courtesy a Ouija board.
Interior. LAPL Digital Archives.
A mere draftsman, Wyman had been approached by millionaire Lewis Bradbury, who desired a structural marvel bearing his name in the downtown Los Angeles area. Wyman fretted over the assignment, but the Ouija’s prediction came true: Executed in iron, marble and glass, and featuring a futuristic, airy center-court design, the Bradbury made Wyman an instant sensation. Moreover, thanks to film and other media, the Bradbury remains one of the City of Angels’ most famous architectural gems.
Unfortunately, it also proved to be Wyman’s only significant design. Try as he might on later projects, he never again equaled the talent, genius and promise he first showed in his Ouija-inspired brainchild.
Even worse, Lewis Bradbury never got to see his namesake edifice completed. In an ironic twist of fate, he died just months before the building’s 1893 grand opening — proving the Ouija board really does have a demonic sense of humor.