(Revised) STORY AND LINKS: Ditch the car! Angels Flight opens up new transit options for Music Center concerts

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News



Angels Flight has reopened making the climb up the hill to Disney Hall and the Music Center a thing of the past. (Image from Angels Flight Web site)
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Anyone wanting to use public transportation to get to Walt Disney Concert Hall or other Music Center venues (or MOCA and The Colburn School) usually faces one daunting leg to the trip: a steep, uphill two-block (at least) hike to reach the summit crowned by the performing venues.

If your concert happens to be on a weekday morning (such as this Friday), the Los Angeles City downtown DASH buses offer another possibility but since they stop running around 7 p.m. that option doesn’t apply to evening events.

Leaving concerts isn’t a major issue since the walk back to the Red Line subway or major bus lines is downhill, although not everyone is entirely comfortable about walking at night in downtown Los Angeles (the growing number of people using public transit does provides something of a “safety-in-numbers” feel).

Now, almost in stealth mode, comes a new option to broaden transit possibilities. It’s not perfect (we’re not talking in-performing hall subway exits such as you find in New York City or Montreal), but Angels Flight helps makes a concert into an event, with a European-type stroll that can heighten the anticipation of the music to come.

ANGELS FLIGHT AND A PLEASANT DOWNTOWN STROLL

Virtually without notice, Angels Flight, billed as the “world’s shortest railway,” has reopened … yet again. Built in 1901 the Los Angeles Incline Railway shuttled residents of Victorian homes and bungalows on then-fashionable Bunker Hill up and down to shopping on Hill St. Like the original, the restored funicular uses two cars — Sinai and Olivet (the religious names signify climbing to the heavens) — for what is now a 298-foot-foot trip on a 33 percent grade that takes about 45 seconds each way.

Angels Flight (with no apostrophe; the name was applied in 1912 because of the decorative arch at the lower end of the track) became an iconic Los Angeles symbol and ran until 1969 when, in conjunction with the Bunker Hill Renewal Project, the City of Los Angeles’s Community Redevelopment Agency dismantled the railway.

It took 27 years of dogged persistence by preservationists before Angels Flight reopened, only to be shut down again in 2001 following an accident that killed an 83-year-old man and injured seven others. Now operated by the nonprofit Angels Flight Railway Foundation, the funky funicular underwent a four-phase post-accident renovation (detailed about halfway down the page HERE) with significant safety improvements that, hopefully, will prevent a reoccurrence of the 2001 tragedy.

Service resumed Monday. The cars run about every five minutes from 6:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and the trip costs a quarter each way (it was a penny in 1901). The wooden benches are as hard as ever and were built for skinner people than populate the 21st century. The cars still jerk and rattle. Nonetheless, a ride on Angels Flight remains a lot of fun. INFO

So, aside from nostalgia, what does all this have to do with concerts at Disney Hall and other Music Center facilities? The lower level of Angels Flight sits adjacent to an exit from the Red and Purple Line’s Pershing Square station (if you’re coming from Union Station, exit in the direction away from how the train is traveling; if you’re coming from the other end of either line, exit in the same direction as the train is traveling). Go up one level from where the trains are, then follow the signs, taking the LEFT exit. That will put you on the west side of Hill St. From there, walk about 100 yards to Angels Flight. If for some reason you happen to come up on the east side of Hill St., just cross the street to the Angels Flight entrance.

When you exit Angels Flight at the top, you’ll be in California Plaza, dominated by towering office buildings and a dancing-fountain waterscape, along with an amphitheatre that hosts outdoor concerts in summer (LINK).

After leaving the Watercourt, stroll through the plaza, enjoying the outdoor gardens and sculpture, then bear right past the Omni Hotel and come to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). You’ll know you’re there by the Nancy Rubins; Chas' Stainless Steel, Mark Thompson's Airplane Parts, About 1000 Pounds of Stainless Steel Wire... that stands guard outside. It’s either a dramatic sculpture or a pile of junk, depending on your tastes, but you can’t miss it.

Walk down through the MOCA courtyard and you’re on Grand Avenue. Turn right, pass The Colburn School (unless you’re planning on attending a concert or recital in the school’s Zipper Hall), and you’re looking at Frank Gehry’s sweeping sails that crown Disney Hall. Continue across First Street for the balance of the Music Center venues (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theater and Mark Taper Forum).

The walk from the top end of Angels Flight to Disney Hall should take about five minutes unless you stop; the distance is about the same as the walk from the 1st and Hill side of the Red/Purple Line Civic Center station, but it’s all flat. The day may come when Grand Avenue will become a pedestrian-only promenade, but walking it today is still a pleasant experience, especially in warm weather.

TRANSIT SCHEDULES: Angels Flight opens up dozens of transit possibilities — here’s one. If you’re attending an 8 p.m. weekday concert and coming in from Pasadena on the Gold Line, take the train that leaves the Sierra Madre Villa Station at 6:27 p.m. and arrives at Union Station at 6:55 p.m. Walk down one level to the main concourse and turn right (toward the main train station). At the big electronic departure/arrival board, turn right and descend two levels, following the signs to the Metro Red Line.

Take the first Red or Purple Line train available (there’s one at 7:05 p.m. and another at 7:11 p.m). Exit at Pershing Square (second stop — about three minutes) and take the escalators or elevator away from the direction the train is heading. Once out of the station, cross Hill St., take Angels Flight and follow the directions above. You should arrive at Disney Hall well in advance of the downbeat, even with a few pauses along the away to enjoy the ambiance.

To get home, walk down 1st St. and enter the Red/Purple Line at the Civic Center station on the right. Board any train heading toward Union Station (one stop), exit and follow the signs to the Gold Line two levels up. Board a Gold Line train heading to Sierra Madre Villa and you’re on your way.

For other options, log onto www.metro.net and use the "Trip Planner" halfway down on the right-hand side of the home page. Your end point is “Metro Red Line Pershing Square Station.” Figure about 30 minutes from the time you board the Red or Purple Line at Union Station until you actually arrive at Disney Hall. Or send me an email (BobTatFORE@aol.com) at least 24 hours before your concert, telling me where you’ll start and I’ll help you navigate the procedure. Once you’ve done it, you’ll know the routine.

FARES: buy a Day Pass at any Gold Line station. Cost is $5 or $1.80 for seniors over age 62. Hang onto your pass and show it if a fare inspector of Sheriff asks to see it. As noted above, Angels Flight costs another quarter.

DINING: The California Plaza and its surrounding office buildings contain a number of restaurants, although not all are open beyond weekday business hours (some, but not all, are listed HERE).

Nearby, The Colburn School’s Café serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5-7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (with snacks available in between those blocks). The Café is open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Of course, Disney Hall is home to Patina Restaurant and the Concert Hall Café. Kendall’s Brasserie and Bar is underneath the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (at street level on Grand Avenue). On the Music Center Plaza are the Spotlight Café and Pinot Grill to Go. INFO
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(c) Copyright 2010, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.