Opened on September 24, 1905, the Court Flight was built by Attorney R. E. Blackburn of the McCarthy real estate firm and Samuel G Vandegrift, to serve the wealthy residents of Bunker Hill. The line was entirely double tracked, using a pair of thirty-inch gauge counterbalanced cars, and ran for a distance of 180 feet up a 42 per cent grade between Broadway and Court Streets, in the middle of the block between Temple and First Streets. A fire on October 20, 1943 damaged the line and put it out of commission. The old courthouse (left) was demolished in 1937 because the structure was declared unsafe after the 1932 earthquake. Constructed between 1909 and 1911 to the cost of over a million dollars, the original 12-story Hall of Records at 220 N. Broadway was demolished in September, 1973. View of parking area and upper entrance to Court Flight cable railway, leading to the Hall of Records, Courthouse and City Hall below. Next to the railway on the north is New Hotel Broadway.
Court Flight (Railway) Los Angeles County Hall of Records (Los Angeles, Calif. : 1911-1962) Los Angeles County Courthouse (Los Angeles, Calif. : 1891-1932) Los Angeles City Hall (Los Angeles, Calif.) Public buildings--California--Los Angeles Railroads, Cable--California--Los Angeles Municipal buildings--California--Los Angeles Civic centers--California--Los Angeles City halls--California--Los Angeles Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles Courthouses--California--Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.) Bunker Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.)
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