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Downtown LA's historic little rail line Angels Flight takes off again
Angels Flight, the landmark funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of downtown Los Angeles, resumed operation after a nine year absence. Photo taken on March 14, 2010.
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AP Photo/Gus Ruelas
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Downtown LA's historic little rail line Angels Flight takes off again
Downtown LA's historic little rail line Angels Flight takes off again
A little piece of L.A. history reopens today. Angels Flight starts trekking people up and down a downtown L.A. hillside once again.
The colorful little rail line takes people up and down Bunker Hill connecting Grand Avenue near California Plaza down to Hill Street across from Grand Central Market. It was shut down for nearly 10 years since a deadly accident. A cable let loose in 2001 sending one rail car down the hill colliding with the other. An 83-year-old holocaust survivor died and seven other people were injured.
Angels Flight first opened in 1901. It was dubbed the shortest rail line in the world. But it went up one steep block. Rides cost a penny and saved people the tough trek up and down Bunker Hill.
Officials dismantled it in 1969 in the midst of downtown L.A.’s urban renewal. It reopened in 1996.
Starting today it is back up and running again at a quarter a ride. And it operates each day from 6:45 in the morning until 10 at night.
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