In the heart of downtown Los Angeles sits Hollywood’s undisputed architectural superstar — the Bradbury Building. The imposing structure’s character is definitive. Its origin story, however, is much murkier… 

How did a young draftsman design one of the most remarkable buildings in the world? Why did he never again do anything of note? Or did he? Was all his creativity spent on this one masterpiece? Was this a case of stolen intellectual property? Or could this have even been a brush with the supernatural?

See images and read the show notes!

Clever Confidential is our offshoot series where we dig into the lesser told stories of the darker side of design; the shadowy, sometimes sordid, tales hiding under a glossy top coat of respectable legacy.

Many thanks to this episode’s guest experts Esotouric's Kim Cooper and Richard Schave!

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Credits: 

Hosts: Amy Devers & Andrew Wagner

Writing and research: Amy Devers & Andrew Wagner

Guests: Kim Cooper & Richard Schave of Esotouric

Production: Amy Devers

Editing and Sound Design: Camille Stennis 

Theme Music: “Astronomy” by Thin White Rope courtesy of Frontier Records

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