Welcome Back, Angels Flight

MAdison 6-1901: That old telephone number for the Angels Flight Railway conjures up images of preskyscraper downtown Los Angeles, when the funicular transported people between Bunker Hill and the retail and commercial district below. For those who wax nostalgic, the Angels Flight is back.

Restored to its old glory and with the old Madison prefix (that’s “MA,” or 62, for those who don’t remember), Angels Flight resumes service this Saturday after a 27-year hiatus. The only difference is that it has been moved one block south to Fourth Street from its original location at Third and Hill.

In a city known for constantly remaking itself and treasuring the new and slick over the old and quaint, the return of Angels Flight is a refreshing change. The nonprofit Angels Flight Railway Foundation, headed by President John H. Welborne, has spent $4.1 million in a loving restoration and improvement of the system. The bright-red Angels Flight arch on Hill Street stands in stark contrast against a backdrop of towering glass high-rises. Around the bustling Grand Central Market nearby, old buildings stand forlorn and in need of new life. Perhaps the return of Angels Flight will help to breathe new life into the old commercial district.

It certainly will help to bring more people into the area. Some will come just to take the one-minute, 25-cent ride aboard the rebuilt original cars, Olivet and Sinai. For others, the “world’s shortest railway” (298 feet) will provide an alternative to hoofing it to or from the Red Line’s 4th and Hill entrance and California Plaza.

This weekend’s two-day street festival to reopen Angels Flight should surely be a memorable affair. Downtown Los Angeles in recent years has not been known for its charm. But the return of Angels Flight will be a reminder of the charm of the city that was and the charm that can be.