Angel’s Flight in downtown Los Angeles was built in 1901 to connect the upper Bunker Hill residences to the shops and retail below. In its original location from 1901 to 1962 it connected Olive St with Hill Street below. It is a narrow gauge railroad with cables pulling the cars. In its original location it had a perfect safety record except for a sailor during WW II who walked on the tracks and was killed. In 1962 the original location was redeveloped and the railroad was moved just South to its present location in 1996. Unfortunately, in 2001 because of a systems failure a rider suffered a fatal accident and the line was closed for safety upgrades. It is promised that the Los Angeles funicular with the iconic railcars will soon be returned to public service. The movie industry has long had a love affair with this picturesque location. The stars ride it in La La Land; the Muppets rode it; a low budget 1965 film noir about a Bunker Hill serial killer was even titled, Angel’s Flight; and other shots of it appear in The Glenn Miller Story; Kiss Me Deadly; The Turning Point with William Holden and Alexis Smith taking a ride on it to follow a lead; and many more. Angel’s Flight has once again reopened and at the unbeatable price tag of only one dollar, it is worth a ride to connect to our common civic history.
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