Bradburn Corporation has the most efficient, best trained, knowledgeable, and safety conscious personnel in the demolition industry.
Founded by Kenneth L. Bradburn, Bradburn Wrecking has evolved from a single pick-up truck and a few hand tools to a demolition company that has successfully completed projects nationally across the United States, but our home has always been and will always be Wichita, Kansas. Kenneth had a 3rd shift job in the 1950’s at the Coleman Company in Wichita. Wanting to be his own boss he was always interested in demolition from his earlier days in the Army. He took on his first garage project against the wishes of his mother. Three days later he turned the small garage demolition project into a profitable venture by selling all the lumber from the job and making more than he earned at Coleman all month. Soon he moved into larger projects, buying his first piece of equipment, hiring employees, and forming Bradburn Wrecking Company. Kenneth Bradburn cleared the way for most of the growth in Wichita and the State of Kansas, as well Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa throughout the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.
After Kenneth’s passing in 1992, his son, Darren Bradburn, took the company into a growth and expansion period that continues today. Darren’s safety, perfectionism, and leadership are the hallmarks that have ensured Bradburn’s continued growth and success.
We work on dozens of projects a year. Here are a couple of our larger ones and a few details on each.
Remove sections of the old school to make room for new renovations. Careful cutting separated the removed sections from what remained.
Demolish the old Mid-Continent terminals without damaging any infrastructure of Eisenhower Airport. It took 1,225 semi loads of dirt to fill the basement.
Bradburn Corporation was part of the renovation of the 200 block of East Douglas. We removed the Michigan & Lerner buildings, and completed remediation and removal of the interior of Exchange Place and the Bitting Building.
We removed the KC135 Tanker Hanger and 7 additional buildings.
Demolition of the historic baseball stadium in 2019 was completed in just 42 days.
Remove old printing presses, remediation and removal of of 250K sq ft.
Through the years we have helped create and change the face of Wichita. This slideshow shows some of the buildings we have worked on or torn down over the years. We own our demolition photos, but the historic building photos are from wichitaphotos.org.
The Innes/Macy’s building went through a major renovation in 1992 when we removed 300,000 sq ft of the interior and it became the SRS building
Bradburn Corporation removed the 121,000 square feet of interior of the Union National Bank (and the historic Dockum Drug) to make way for the boutique Ambassador Hotel in 2011-2012
A major remodel in 1985 kept us busy at the old Lassen Hotel
Bradburn Corporation helped stabilize the old Keen Kutter hardware store as it was renovated into the Hotel at Oldtown in 1999
The Forum was demolished in 1965 to make way for Century II
We stripped the interior of the historic Eaton hotel to make way for apartments in 2000
The Coronado Hotel was demolished in 1974
The Coleman Company main plant was a multi story demolition of 175,000 sqft in 2011
The Allis Hotel was imploded on a cold December morning in 1995
We tore down the old Rector’s Books (Michigan Building), and the Lerner Building. We did a strip out of the Bitting Building and the Exchange Place in 2015 to make way for new apartments
We removed the old presses and tore down The Wichita Eagle building to make way for the new Cargill headquarters in 2018
Western-Lithograph was torn down in 1972
Interior of Western Iron which Bradburn demolished in 1983
Demolished the Riverside Boathouse in 1968
Removed the Municipal Swimming Pool (Riverside) in 1972
Demolition of the Crest Theatre at Douglas & Oliver
The back side of the Crest Theatre while it is being demolished
Bradburn Corporation demolished the Midtown Holiday Inn on North Broadway in 1991
Demolished the Mid-Continent Airport in 2018 which was replaced with Eisenhower Airport
Demolishing the hanger for the KC-135 refueling tankers to make way for the KC-46 Pegasus
Removing 270,000 sq ft of the old Andover High School after the new one was built in 2020
Demolition of the Motor Equipment Building in 1966
What’s left of the Southwest Cracker Company, demolished in 1965
Work trucks at the job site of Furniture Warehouse & Dolesee Brothers 1974
The interior of the sanctuary of the Church of the Magdalen has been removed 4/27/2002
The support structure of the lower level of the Church of the Magdalen has been removed and the upper structure has fallen in the same shape it was. 2002
Removing 1.5 million square feet of 24″ thick runway in 1994
Video by Andrew Cramb via YouTube
2012