Angels Flight Railway

If you could take just one photo: Angels Flight Railway

For a mere 25 cents, you can go from the mundane to the sublime in a ride up the world's shortest (but very steep) railway. Originally created to get residents up to their homes in Bunker Hill, nowadays, arriving at the top will net you some great views of restored downtown Los Angeles with its burgeoning art, food, and nightlife scenes, access to the visually stunning Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as some interactions with very friendly ducks. It's a small price to pay to visit a historical and film noir landmark. (And on special occasions, the city has been known to roll back the fare to its original price: one cent!)

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Who says this city doesn't have public transportation? Back in the days when femme fatales, zoot suit gangsters, and shady private eyes roamed the streets, they could board a funicular in Downtown L.A.'s busy shopping district, then ascend the slope up to the posh residential area of Bunker Hill. Billed as "The World's Shortest Railway," Angels Flight was built in 1901 and became a film noir landmark. Today, lifeless high rise office buildings may dwarf the structure, but in its restored state it still retains its majesty and mystery despite the surrounding dirty hubbub. Check before you go to see if the railway cars are functioning. Angels Flight was closed for several years, but finally reopened in March of 2010. Hitch a ride for the price of a quarter or just skulk around in the railway's shadows, marveling at the fact that something with this much history and charm still exists.

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