Angels Flight Railway

Angels Flight Railway is a funicular in L.A.'s Bunker Hill neighborhood that travels up and down the steep slope between Hill and Olive streets. With a total length of just 300 feet, it holds the title of "World's Shortest Railway." It also has the distinction of being California's oldest inclined railway.

Colonel James Ward Eddy conceived of the hillside hauler and obtained a 30-year franchise from the city to operate it in 1901. The system uses two counterbalanced cars that move up and down the slope on parallel tracks. Initially the one-minute ride, which then started at Third Street, cost passengers one cent. The first and only fare increase occurred in 1914 when the charge was raised to five cents.

When the Bunker Hill Urban Renewal Project of 1959 threatened the railway with destruction, it was designated as a Historical Cultural Landmark. However, that did not keep it from being dismantled ten years later and placed in storage. Then, in 1996, Angels Flight Railway was reconstructed at its current location at Fourth Street, a half a block south of its original site.

Today, despite a prolonged closure starting in 2001, the Angels Flight Railway is still in operation. The cost of a one-way ride is now twenty-five cents, and the operating hours are from 6:45am to 10pm daily. The terminals are at 351 South Hill Street, Los Angeles, California 90013 and 350 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90071.