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Angel's Flight!
In 1996 when Angel's Flight was preparing it's Grand Reopening, I and a couple friends decided to attend the festivities. Part of that reasoning was that we'd also get to ride it, but on that day it was not open for the general public to ride. We'd have to wait. Over the years since, and that's been a long time now, 29 years, every time I was downtown and had the opportunity, it was either shut down; being repaired, or whatever. The most disappointing "or whatever" time was in 2004 when a friend and I were a team that completed in the first ever Race/LA. This was patterned on The Amazing Race series, where teams of two had to travel throughout various L.A. areas and perform some task and then get clues to the next location. We started out in a park area around Lake Hollywood and the first destination was to the County Museum. There were locations in Hollywood and Chinatown, where we had to eat something in a bakery, Olvera Street was visited and such; the L.A. Library where we had to find some information in a specific book. Then one clue had us traveling to Angel's Flight on South Hill where we were to ride it to the top and then move on from there! The ticket for it was in the clue. When teams got to Angel's Flight...you guessed it...it wasn't working. So we were instructed to walk up the staircase beside it. Ugh! We also had to ride the subway to Union Station, we had to retrieve something in a locker in a museum near USC before heading to the Coliseum where the finish line was! My friend and I WON! First place!
I was thinking about all that on Monday this week and around noon on this first really comfortable day of weather L.A.'s had this year, I thought, why don't you do something? Why not go downtown and visit Angel's Flight? Why not? So I did. I took a bus to the Metro (subway) in Hollywood and then got off at the Pershing Square stop which is located under Hill Street between 4th and 5th Street. Turns out when I got above ground I happened to be at the corner where I could see Angels Flight on Hill Street in the distance! So I walked about a block and a half and there I was at the entrance where two tourists were standing talking in French, I believe, looking up the tracks to Grand Avenue and the plaza. The sign there said you could enter and sit in the car and you'd get the tickets at the top.
At long last I was riding Angel's Flight! It's such a short trip that you want to stay seated in there for much longer! At the top I bought the souvenir round trip ticket from the lady in the booth. I told her about my experience of having missed this for so many years. She told me she was going to keep my ticket in tact and not take off the two stubs on the side, one for each trip on the car.
I took a walk around the plaza area and viewed the city and the people milling about before making my way back to Angel's Flight for the trip back down to Hill Street. The return trip had a full car of people in it!!! As I exited I wondered if I should do it again, but did not.
I decided then to walk the short distance to the Biltmore Hotel. The Biltmore Bar had opened within the last hour. I'd been there a couple times previously over the years. I sat at the bar; the bartender's name was Rommel. (!) I'd wanted to try their Black Dahlia cocktail on the menu. It's made with vodka, Chambourd and Kalua with an orange peel garnish. I also got an appetizer to eat. There were people there having lively conversations; a pianist playing some nice background music. In a rather historic setting with the art deco surroundings and photos from the past of the Biltmore's history, a TV above the bar seemed out of place, so I chose to sit where I wouldn't see it and enjoy everything else about the place.
When leaving I walked down the hallway and reviewed some of the artwork and photographs adorning the walls. I walked by several people who were looking at something on the wall and I heard a man say...like "they don't know who did it" and looking in that direction I saw they were in front of a portrait of Elizabeth Short. As I passed I said, "I just had a cocktail named after her. "Really?" the man said. I replied, "They have it the bar; the Black Dahlia cocktail." I kept passing and heard him say, "well how was it?" I told him I liked it, but it was a little too sweet.
It was dark as I emerged from the Biltmore onto the street and walked past the Pershing Square park to the subway, wishing the park was like it used to be back in the day and satisfied that I had finally met and ridden Angel's Flight.
By the way, I rode
Olivet to the top and
Sinai on the way down!
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