We've heard this before: Angels Flight, the Bunker Hill funicular that has been closed for several years, is slated to finally reopen this summer. (It's been closed since 2001, when one of the cars broke free, killing one man and injuring seven others.)
City officials announced the eventual re-opening earlier this week. In the six years since Angels Flight shut down, the L.A. Times notes. downtown has changed dramatically:
In many ways, the downtown that Angels Flight will return to is more similar to the one it was originally built to serve in 1901, when Col. J.W. Eddy built the funicular as a way to spare Angelenos the walk up Bunker Hill — for the price of one cent a ride. At the time, Victorian mansions lined the double-barreled railroad's tracks, and an observation tower at the top offered residents a view all the way to Boyle Heights.
These days, the area is ringed by different sorts of residences. The recently opened Metro 417 building, once the Subway Terminal building, offers upscale lofts starting at $1,400 a month. The Douglas and Pan-American buildings, a few blocks away, offer condo-style loft units. Farther east, the Historic District includes a handful of old bank buildings that have been revamped as housing. The projects join the Angelus Plaza Senior Citizens Housing Complex, opened in the 1980s, as well as several residential towers on Bunker Hill.
Angels Flight is already getting a new paint job: A return to the old orange-and-black color scheme it once boasted. Other changes, such as new safety measures, are still under consideration.
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