Bradley Strides Off to His New Life : Changeover: The former mayor settles into job with law firm. On an energetic hike from City Hall, he shakes hands, signs autographs and elicits a few tears.

From the expression on his face and the vigor of his stride, it appeared that Tom Bradley could not wait to get out of City Hall on Thursday.

Minutes after the inaugural, as Mayor Richard Riordan and his entourage entered the mayor’s suite, a beaming Bradley slipped out. Twenty years was long enough.

With much of his staff in tow, the lanky Bradley barreled out of the building and into a city that changed dramatically during his tenure. With no city car waiting at the curb, Bradley relied on his wingtips.

“When I leave an experience,” Bradley said, “I close the door and don’t look back.”

This was not a sullen man with a broken heart. He was more like candidate Bradley, the energetic handshaker who won over voters five straight times.

“I’m not saying that we got everything done as fast as I wanted or that we finished everything we wanted to do,” Bradley said. “But as far as my satisfaction level, I’m very pleased with what we accomplished in this Administration.”

As he speed-walked through downtown in the midday heat, bus drivers honked, motorists waved and pedestrians angled for a glimpse. He shook at least 77 hands, signed two autographs and caused an overwhelmed Carmen Avalos to cry. “I love you!” she shouted as he ambled by her in the Broadway Market.

On this day, Bradley’s accomplishments were in mind--the 1984 Summer Olympics, the growth of downtown, the rise of ethnic minorities in city government. The riots, the crime rate and the city’s budget crisis took a back seat.

Taxi drivers, senior citizens, homeless people and executives shouted fond farewells as the outgoing mayor passed by.

“Thanks for the Red Line!”

“God bless you!”

“We’re going to miss you!”

“El alcalde!”

“Gonna shake a homeless man’s hand?” He did.

From City Hall, Bradley settled comfortably into a new career and a freshly painted office on the 23rd floor of a downtown skyscraper.

Bradley earned his law degree from Southwestern University while he was a police officer years ago. As a senior counselor with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, one of the state’s largest law firms, Bradley will work at resolving conflicts for some of the firm’s biggest clients and at attracting new business from his extensive Rolodex.

“I look at Tom Bradley as a superb lawyer,” said managing partner George H. Link. “Sure, he has made contacts and knows everybody. But here’s a man who’s been bringing warring factions together and solving problems. That’s what successful senior lawyers do.”

After a series of meetings with the firm’s clients in San Francisco and San Diego in the coming weeks, Bradley will set off on a business tour of the Pacific Rim. The September trip will include stops in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan and will tap into Bradley’s extensive contacts overseas.

Bradley’s wife, Ethyl, who stayed away from most ceremonial functions over the years, also missed her husband’s final appearance as an elected official at the Riordan inaugural. Although there are no signs that the 75-year-old Bradley will be retiring soon, he said the new job ought to give him more time at home and an opportunity to read and go to movies.

Bradley’s return to private life brought with it immediate signs that there was a new man in the mayor’s office.

The hologram of Bradley that greeted visitors at the City Hall entrance was removed Wednesday night. So was Bradley’s portrait above the “Welcome to Los Angeles sign” at Los Angeles International Airport.

But there were plenty of reminders left behind. Along with the international terminal at LAX, Bradley’s name has been etched on a youth center in Watts, an international center at UCLA and a fountain at the New Otani Hotel.

There is also the Tom Bradley Wing at the Central Library, the Tom Bradley Exhibit Hall at the Convention Center and the Tom Bradley Room at City Hall.

“How do I want to be remembered?” Bradley said, gazing at a blank walls of his law office. “I hope people will say, ‘That man really loved the city, and he did the best job he could each and every day.’ ”