Angels Flight opened in 1901 as the Los Angeles Incline Railway, financed by Colonel J. W. Eddy. It has about 298 feet of track with a 96-foot rise, a grade of about 33 percent. The two cars, Olivet and Sinai, run in opposite directions on a shared cable.
The railway closed in May 1969 for Bunker Hill redevelopment, and the cars sat in storage for 27 years. It reopened on February 24, 1996 at a new site half a block south.
On February 1, 2001, the car Sinai rolled downhill uncontrolled and hit Olivet. One 83-year-old man died and eight others were hurt. The NTSB blamed improper design and construction of the drive system. It reopened in 2010, closed again, and reopened in 2017.