This is a new, ongoing feature in which we will look at some of the most interesting/memorable commercial properties from fiction.
This week: the Wolfram and Hart building from the TV series ‘Angel’: an 8-story office building located in Los Angeles, California.
A spin-off from the hugely successful Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel was an American TV series that ran from 1999 to 2004. 
The show details the ongoing adventures of Angel, a vampire whose soul was restored as punishment for the rape and murder of the favoured daughter of a powerful group of gypsies. Tormented by guilt and remorse for the centuries of atrocities he had performed, Angel searches for redemption by committing himself to the fight against evil.
Sounds a bit naff, right? Wrong. Self-aware without ever descending into self-parody,Angel is perhaps the most overlooked television show of the last 20 years. Funny, smart, innovative, endlessly surprising and, at times, heartbreaking, it was years ahead of its time.
The primary antagonist over the course of the show’s five, 22-episode seasons was Wolfram & Hart, a powerful, inter-dimensional law firm which acts as a front for an ancient group of demons known as the ‘Senior Partners’.
History of the site
While Wolfram & Hart has offices in every major city across the globe, most of the action
seen in Angel takes place in their Los Angeles branch: a slightly unusual, slightly intimidating, but otherwise ordinary-looking, cantilevered, modernist office building.
While the current building is clearly late 20th-century in design, the site itself has been in Wolfram & Hart’s possession since 1791, when the firm’s ‘seers’ (think the mystical equivalent of a surveyor) suggested it as an ideal location for a new branch.
There were a few teething problems – not least the site was occupied by a Spanish mission, and holy ground is not the coolest spot for an evil law firm. So, instead of moving in next door and creating a potential hit sitcom, they did what any decent evil company would do: acquired the site (destroyed the mission) and made it fit for purpose (murdered a serial killer named Matthias Pavayne, then used his blood to deconsecrate the ground).
Why buy?
- Built on deconsecrated ground, so no ‘ancient Indian burial ground’ issues. (Although the ghost of Matthias Pavayne did terrorise the site for 200 years, he has now been made corporeal and locked in a steel box for eternity)
- All windows equipped with necro-tempered glass – manufactured to allow vampires to stand in direct sunlight without being destroyed.
- Elevator access to an inter-dimensional space known as ‘The White Room’, which currently serves as a channel to contact the otherwise unseen, malevolent Senior Partners, but could be converted to an off-dimensional call centre or day nursery.
- Extensive laboratory facilities.
- A ‘failsafe’: a huge monster, kept in a custom-built container located in the basement. Although specifically engineered to kill heroic vampires, it can be used “by” all employees.
- Executive penthouse suite, accessible through a private elevator.
- Interior of the building was destroyed (and almost every member of staff murdered) by a 7ft-tall horned demon named ‘The Beast’. Recently refurbished to a high standard.
The real building
The real-life building is the Sony Pictures Plaza, an eight-story, multi-purpose office, retail
and entertainment building which forms part of the Sony Pictures Studios complex.
When viewed from street level, it’s clear that the makers of Angel have distorted the building’s true visage. While the unusual cantilevered design is obviously recognisable, the real building looks more like a casino than an office block.
Completed in 1986, it is located at 10202 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232, on the east side of Madison Ave., between Washington Blvd and Culver Blvd, directly opposite the main gate of Sony Studios.