Angels Flight

Yesterday I had to quickly go downtown to do some research for a story.

It was supposed to rain, and even though it never did, the air still had that crisp, post-rain feeling that made everything snap into focus.

I was there to ride Angels Flight, the “world’s shortest railway,” a funicular that was built in 1902. Today it looks like a castle among the modern office buildings.

It even has its own moat.

Angels Flight recently re-opened after a nine-year hiatus. It closed just before I moved to LA so I’ve never had a chance to ride it before.

For just 25 cents (or five rides for a dollar), you can ride all the way back to 1902. It’s a pretty sweet deal, I think.

There are even old time ads to get you in the mood.

And old time tickets.

When you get to the bottom, you can look back up at Bunker Hill and try to imagine what it looked like when Angels Flight was built.

Well, this isn’t exactly how it looked, since Angels Flight has since been moved a block to the south. But you get the idea.

I would say it’s probably the best 25 cents you can spend in Los Angeles.