Angels Flight - Bunker Hill Los Angeles 1960's

Video shows 1960's renovation and redevelopment of the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles.
Please Subscribe to My KZbin Channel.

[@machinelearng]

What an amazing film. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and its sad to see those who run the city have so little desire to preserve its former unique look or its history

[@larryseibert4102]

Well done. I was born in 1947 in Los Angeles. My grandmother took me on "Angels Flight" many times. Also to "Clifton's Cafeteria" where I got to choose a toy from the treasure chest. Wonderful memories.

[@MiteshDamania]

How is the Clifton's of today in comparison?

[@bobareebop]

Yes! I had forgotten about the treasure chest at Clifton's.

[@mistervacation23]

Did you ever go to Musso & Frank on Hollywood Boulevard?

[@JuanCarlos-vf5xg]

I RATHER ENJOYED THOSE ORIGINAL BUILDINGS THAN THE TALL BUILDING THAT EXISTS RIGHT NOW.

[@josesalinas8315]

Los Angeles my city lost a lot of heritage and priceless history because of GREED.

[@newmag42]

Yes sadly Jose that is what they do...my aunts had hotels for rent day by day or week to week and month as well....that was way before your time but do so remember all the wonderful times growing up there...we would go to Grand Central Market and buy fresh everything and many foods of other ethnic tastes as well...

[@-oiiio-3993]

The same that founded it.

[@sharonvargas4334]

Beautiful film. It pains me to watch it though. This is why I belong to the Los Angeles Conservancy, so these old precious buildings don’t go down without a fight.

[@doctheperfectfaceforradio6022]

I love old LA.

[@SunAngelD]

I feel the same.🥺 Sad and beautiful. Hopefully you and the Conservancy can protect what’s left of old Los Angeles.💜

[@setforglobaldoom]

An absolute fucking disgrace and utter shame. To erase so much damn history of my city. 😪

[@nedludd7622]

This reminds me of New York City destroying the old Penn Station and replacing it with an inhuman atrocity. These are examples of what real vandalism is.

[@robierap]

Yeah, let’s learn from history and reuse old structures. It’s more economical in a climate change era.

[@robierap]

@@RichardCockerill I’m not laying a personal nor political judgment on your perspective during this Easter weekend. 🐰

[@davidortega357]

When i lived in Wilmington ca i drove up to downtown L.A. in 1968. Got on board at Angels flight up to Bunker hill back then there was many Victorian homes scattered all over the hill we had a couple of victorian homes in Wilmas back in 68 there were victorian homes all over L A. It was good mermories of the good ole. Days down Broadway and Main streets to Olvera street the. Placita. I remember going to L.A. on the train with my dad when i was 5 years old 1954. Im now 70 years old i lived in delhi now in central cali theres still Victorian homes. in Merced ca. And Stockton , Sacramento its nice living up north old town sacramento good to visit i remember the PIKE in Long Beach back in 1963-1975 we had fun there they had the beach too fun times gone but not forgotten

[@jesseguevara]

Must've had a wild adventure!

[@toastnjam7384]

I road Angels Flight's a few times as a kid in the late 50's. Five cents. I lived in South Silver Lake and there were two big Victorian homes in the neighborhood that were subdivide into Apt's. Both were torn down and replaced with Dingbats Apt's.

[@kenrowland7864]

When they leveled Bunker Hill.....That was the Beginning stages of the demise of L.A. .....smh!!!!😔

[@hollywood101usa]

Beautifully filmed, but what a tragic story! So painful to watch history being ripped apart for so called progress.

[@machinelearng]

My thoughts completely

[@MarinCipollina]

The happy ending (sort of) is that Angel Flight was NOT sold for scrap, it went out of commission, where it sat in storage until relaunched in 1996, having been relocated about 300 feet East. It operates to this day. Sadly, the rest of the entire neighborhood was lost forever. Part of the soul of the city went with it.

[@richpolysorbate4328]

Although I was only a couple years old when it was all torn down, I grieve it's passing into history. It was unfairly rallied against by real estate developers, bankers, and city politicians as a hotbed of poverty and crime when in fact it was a community of elders, the poor, artists and dreamers. The spirit of Bunker Hill will live on in its writers like John Fante, its artists, the old film noirs and tv pilots that were shot there, and those ghosts in the shadows that loom over the cold and indifferent, ice bank buildings that have replaced it in the name of progress.

[@mokuu3313]

In the inpatient world of the new there is little room for the old.

[@mokuu3313]

I would have never guessed this was LA. I grew up knowing downtown LA as tall glass towers

[@kliegl8613]

@@mokuu3313 I see what you did there.

[@RichardCockerill]

yes

[@MarinCipollina]

@@mokuu3313 This is old Los Angeles, the real old Los Angeles of film noir, full of excitement and possibility. The kind of a place where you could get a room for $15 a month.

[@narvelancoleman8597]

June, 1962: Graduation Day, from Horace Mann Jr. Hi., a group of us 10 graduates, were dropped off Downtown LA, to celebrate. Our first outing without parental supervision. We ate at the legendary 'Clifton's Cafeteria,' saw a double feature: 'Horrors of the Black Museum,' 'Corridors of Blood,' and rode up and down Bunker Hill, about 10 times, on the Angel's Flight.' 🎼🎵🎤Memories...Light the cirners of my mind!🎶🎸🎹

[@philipchretienkarlsson8157]

I know that this is the obvious answer, but, what a shame, and how lovely and restorable all these beautiful houses were...

[@SWSimpson]

It's still running in downtown Los Angeles, it's just a block away from where it was.

[@robertmartinez4174]

as a life long native of LA I can say without reservation that, LA should have been left as it was.

[@kenrowland7864]

If you want any perception of "Old Los Angeles....You have to go to Echo Park and walk around Angelino Heights. It's the only "hint" of "Old L.A....Beautiful Victorian Neighborhood. Thank God they preserved that area since there's not much left.

[@richm9455]

I would ride it with my Grandmother. I remember the victorian homes on the top of Bunker HIll. So long ago.

[@blakespower]

I am playing LA NOIRE and the area lives on in the game

[@doctheperfectfaceforradio6022]

Love that game.

[@joeblow7853]

Born in 1952, I'vemesmerizing with classical music in the background.

[@meztli7240]

8:11 Getting rid of the old and making way for the new. During the 60's and 70's this was seen as progress...

[@kenrowland7864]

To think most of those beautiful houses only stood a few years....What a tragedy!!!

[@dtnetlurker]

The one and only saving grace was the Angel's Flight itself was saved and moved to an area where it can be better used and enjoyed by visitors to the city.

[@wooderdsaunders7429]

Where was it moved

[@notabotiswear6980]

@@wooderdsaunders7429 right across the street from grand central market. down the block from where it was originally. by the tunnel. Temple street i think it is? i may be way off im not from Los angeles, just a huge lover of the city.

[@mgman6000]

I just rode it a week ago with my girlfriend from Illinois on a trip to LA I rode it with my wife in 69 just before they put it in storage it's good they didn't scrap it

[@JuanCarlos-vf5xg]

LOS ANGELES USED TO BE A GREAT CITY. NOT ANYMORE !!

[@JuanCarlos-vf5xg]

THOUSANDS AND THOUSENDS OF HOMELESS.IN L.A. THAT'S A PITY.!!

[@kevinallen6197]

I rode it at 6 years old. I remember it clearly. Exciting for a kid.

[@andrewstinson3284]

I love taking Angel's Flight up to the gleaming Financial District after a nice meal Grand Central Market!

[@desertbob6835]

I worked in the Pacific Tel complex between Grand and Olive. The 434 building went up in '48, the 420 started in '62 and finally topped out at 17 floors in '68, Old timers there who'd seen it all said the old Victorian era houses were flophouses, dilapidated, and were fire hazards. The Redevelopment Agency had already taken title to many of the properties around '54, and maintenance was nil, making a bad situation worse. Thd neighborhood could have been a Victorian landmark district, had there been a conservancy in place, but Harry Chandler and his cabal, along with Kenny Hahn on the City Council (LA's most famous millionaire janitor) saw the money coming their way. Hilly Grand Ave was eventually level off to be a massive overpass, the "temporary" steel parking structure (which lasted into the 21st century) went up in '58, and of course, the Chandlers had to have their Music Center. Years later, and Bunker Hill is still not complete. I did get to see the crane collapse that killed a clerk in a construction trailer and injured the operator when the O'Melvany & Myers building was going up. I don't recognize much of downtown north of 4th St and west of Olive anymore. That's progress, I guess.

[@donluego9448]

Interesting. Did Hahn get his bag-of-money when the Dodgers came here?

[@Modeltnick]

Beautiful film! It captures the texture of the era with period music and narration. Probably filmed on 16mm.

[@Modeltnick]

Thankfully, Angels Flight still exists after many years of tribulation, restoration and relocation a few blocks from the original site. It’s a legend!

[@r.andrewmason3602]

I was offered the restoration, gave the supervision project away to a close friend, who later invited me to complete the renovation on the lower arch. Beautiful memories

[@Modeltnick]

@@r.andrewmason3602 Thanks for your response! I’ve never been to see the flight in person but I can tell by the many videos and still pictures that it has been beautifully and faithfully restored! It was very unfortunate that there was a mechanical failure some years ago that caused a fatal accident but the good that came out of it is that the machinery is closer in design to the original and much stronger. I hope future generations appreciate such a wonderful landmark and it’s beautiful restoration! I even like seeing the bare light bulbs in the interior! Very nostalgic!

[@tora7054]

My brother and I lived near there and rode our bikes on top of those hills back in the early 1970’s. After the building were removed the mountain dirt was removed back to make room for lots of parking lots. When our parents would take us out to eat at the Central Market, we would park right across the street at those parking lots. Great memories. Thank you for the upload of the video.

[@MarinCipollina]

Actually it's about a block and a half from the original location, which was next to the 2nd street tunnel. Now it's midway between 3rd and 4th, both of which are below grade at Olive, which is also below grade. The Angel Flight at the top of the hill terminates at Cal Plaza, Cal Plaza (One and Two) are interconnected, and connect several of the high rise bank buildings that front on both sides of Grand, the Los Angeles high rise row.. Cal Plaza is a multi-activity venue that features an ampitheater and outdoor stage. There are also sections under the towers themselves, the plaza rambles and includes a US post office, a Starbucks, a diner, a pizza place, a gelato place, several restaurants of various cuisines, a gourmet spirits store, a FedEx facility, a couple of Amazon pickup box locations, and the Omni Hotel. Lots of fine dining establishments in the immediate area, along with several mobile kitchens that set up shop on Grand daily. There are museums and other cultural attractions nearby.

[@Modeltnick]

@@MarinCipollina Hey, thanks for the information on the area. I would love to visit Angels Flight someday and spend many trips on it. Such a long journey over the decades to where it is today!

[@lindamerchant4431]

This was really when l.a. was before the terrible crime homelessness

[@dailydoseofsunshine2319]

It's intriguing how they viewed the soon-to-be-coming "urban renewal" (ew) back in the 60s. It wasn't some massive tragedy and loss of historic and beautiful architecture it was just out with the old in with the new and nothing more.

[@-oiiio-3993]

Sweep it 'clean' and replace with steel and glass cubes.

[@shootfirst2097]

So sad all those old building had to be torn down.

[@emmanuelrichard9129]

Shame on you, L.A. city council Look at Frisco who kept the Old Ladies Just have to read John Fante ' s books. "Ask the dust " and "Dreams from Bunker hill "

[@sauluribe7082]

There must have been some protests over the defacing of the old Bunker Hill. It should have somehow remained.

[@-oiiio-3993]

There were. Power, influence, and money prevailed.

[@peternewman1179]

It was a crime of GREED pure and simple.

[@blackrainbowfiresword177]

Fantastic share, really enjoyed it,ty!

[@softwerksaol]

"Waiting for the bulldozers" - Yea!

[@antoniahamilton3201]

Perhaps one day AI will create an immersive Bunker Hill experience. I long to experience The Richfield Oil Building. Imagine walking into its lobby and taking an elevator to the top to view vintage Downtown Los Angeles from above.

[@classiclife7204]

The film waxes sad, but it doesn't mention that the greedy vultures in LA's govt, egged on by their even greedier masters in the banking and real estate sectors, declared Bunker Hill a "slum" for no good reason, the real reason being: profitable development at the expense of the working class.

[@dennymaloney5889]

❤And it's still running🎉At $1 one way fare 😊

[@meljenkins1016]

I rode Angels Flight only one time in my life and that was when they were about to tear it down. Now Bunker Hill is just lined with tall buildings.

[@deniseinsocaldeniseinsocal9510]

My mother was relocated from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Los Angeles during the 1960’s. She told me Bunker Hill was where the BIA placed a lot of them for housing. She said it was really run down and scary.

[@-oiiio-3993]

There is a 1961 film called _The Exiles_ which you would likely find to be of interest.

[@mauriziacanale7212]

Sono incantata da questo film mi pare impossibile che abbiano distrutto tutto😮😮😮

[@henrikhansen1023]

What idiot urban planners ! Tearing the soul out of the city. Those glass concrete monstrums could just as easily have been places somewhere else. Same thing with thing with the 6. street bridge - no respect for history.

[@lorascelsi8102]

Beautiful.

[@carloshugogeib7961]

Touching. Destroy the old doesn't mean that the new Will bê better.

[@doctheperfectfaceforradio6022]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

[@stevewarner6605]

Great footage

[@chach868]

Amazing!

[@donluego9448]

I rode it when came back in the late 90's. Then had a accident with it in 2001 and I don't know if they ever reopened it again.

[@mookyzook]

I always find it fascinating that Americans refer to the ninetieth century as Victorian times. You had a lot of your own history from that century....

[@Modeltnick]

We did but the architecture and design of various fashions were more reflective of British sensibilities. It’s sometimes referred to as the gilded age here in America.

[@Habs8691]

Man, you can almost smell the Brylcreem

[@MatthewReiser123]

Quality production; thank you!

[@paulrom446]

Michael Connelly has a novel titled Angel's Flight!

[@RugbyFootballer]

This was shown on PBS long ago

[@jcnredpizzawindow2219]

Progress it sucks!! 😕

[@BPoweredLove]

Kent Mackenzie brought me here.

[@wolfy1987]

Don't see that kinda beauty in Los Angeles anymore. Just try and take the same shots from this video of modern buildings. You can't, because there's nothing of beauty on modern buildings

[@fgcaliful]

The destruction of bunker hill is why we have a housing crisis in Los angeles

[@robertohernandez9634]

You even right there during that time all that Buildings train card etc still look old

[@stevekelley9874]

Micheal connley wrote a book called angels flight just finished it good book a detective novel glad to see it really exsised

[@mgman6000]

Check out the Bosch series based on Connelly's books they had one episode where a guy got murdered on one of the cars and of course Bosch figures it out

[@gabrielepisacane4597]

Do any of you know what music is playing in the background at the minute 5:00 ?

[@walterheisenberg9886]

I guess they moved it and reopened it in 2017

[@ricksamericana749]

Does anyone have any idea what the music soundtrack to the video is?

[@randydelaney7053]

music please! I love this, weird that watching now this is in the past. I am big on nostalgia so I love this. I look into the past and love it. The first world war should have been to save Humanity not Democracy. Just saying.

[@fob1xxl]

Too bad that generation wanted to bury the past so much that they destroyed history. Today we fight for certain landmarks to be saved. Sometimes we lose. Most of the time, we win.

[@JuanCarlos-vf5xg]

THAT'S A PITY!

[@bannedheretic2971]

Sad.

[@austin_harrouff]

Not one mention of Angels Flight clothing brand famous for their bell-bottoms as seen in Saturday Night Fever.

[@dacosta0656]

Boy the Democrats sure did ruin that state SMH

[@Scorchy666]

By the way, I am born and raised in LA County. You don't know shit about California, our people, or our politics.

[@keithdukes5990]

You've got right along with rest of America!!!🤔🧐🤨🤬

[@themoviedealers]

Sorry, no, it was rich capitalists that wanted that neighborhood removed and replaced. The politicians were just the willing puppets.

[@IMEMINE.]

Again Not so free Not so great