Angels Flight Railway operated from 1901 until 1969 just north of this location beside the south side of the Third Street tunnel. It was dismantled during the re-grading phase of the Bunker Hill urban renewal project, and the Los Angeles City Council directed the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles to preserve and rebuild it. As part of the California Plaza project, its restoration and reconstruction were funded by the CRA's Bunker Hill tax increment revenues and a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Opened December 31, 1901, closed and preserved May 18, 1969, and associated with its closing on May 13, 1969, the railway was carefully dismantled and its parts placed in storage. During the 1995-96 restoration and reconstruction effort under the auspices of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, the original station-house at the top and the Hill Street arch at the bottom were restored. The original cars, Olivet and Sinai, were also restored, although each car was placed on an entirely new undercarriage designed as part of the inclined railway's modern operating system. The work of the historic restoration and engineering professionals was overseen by representatives of the CRA, the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Conservancy.
