Angels Flight, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County

Angels Flight

January 16, 2021 City landmark, Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, National Register of Historic Places

In 1901, the Third Street Tunnel opened beneath Bunker Hill in Los Angeles. In May, Col. J.W. Eddy sought and received City Council approval to build a funicular, an incline railway, by the tunnel. Construction started on August 2 and the Angels Flight Railway opened December 31, 1901. On its Opening Day, more than 2,000 people rode between Hill and Olive Streets. It was dismantled in 1969 with a promise from the City to restore it. Restoration and reconstruction activity one half block south of the original location took place mainly in 1995 and was completed in 1996 with the grand reopening on February 24. Accidents in 2001 and 2013 resulted in lengthy closures and significant safety upgrades. It is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and on the National Register of Historic Places.