Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles started out as an elegant residential neighborhood for the middle and upper class in the 1870s, full of Victorian mansions that were connected by a funicular railroad to the business district on Spring Street. As the decades passed, residents moved out to the suburbs and Bunker Hill deteriorated slowly into a seedy area by the 1940s. The city redeveloped the district in the 1960s and made it the heart of downtown’s high-rise enclave. Newer and more modern buildings were built. Many of the financial and banking companies headquartered on Spring Street began relocating to Bunker Hill’s nicer skyscrapers, transforming Bunker Hill into the new business district while leaving Spring Street empty and abandoned.[1]

Today, there is not much in the way of cultural and historical sights in Bunker Hill. However, there is the attraction of taking a ride along the Angels Flight railway, which claims to be the world’s shortest railroad. Angels Flight was closed in 1969. It was restored in 1996, with its orange and blue train cars, to appeal to tourists interested in riding on an old-fashioned transit line. Unfortunately, an accident occurred in 2001 that resulted in the death of one passenger. The railroad has been shut down since and fixed. It is scheduled to be re-opened some time in the summer of 2007.[2] To get on, just hop aboard on Fourth and Hill Street, put in a quarter, and ascend to the top of Bunker Hill, enjoying the views of Beaux Art structures along the way.[3]You’ll see a lot of 50-story towers with first-level restaurants and shops.

Gas Company Tower
One of the notable skyscrapers in Bunker Hill is the Gas Company Tower on 555 W. Fifth Street, which is a blue metallic building with a crown that symbolizes a gas flame on its side.[4]

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
The Museum of Contemporary Art on Grand Avenue is housed in a complex with colorful red pyramids, a barrel-vaulted entrance pavilion, an outdoor sculpture plaza, and stairs descending to the upper plaza of a smaller courtyard. It is the center of a billion dollar complex called the California Plaza. MOCA features primarily temporary exhibitions, but also has a permanent gallery of mid-century American art, especially from the Abstract Expressionist period. Highlights include works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Sam Francis, Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Franz Kline. There are also sculptures, paintings, and photography collections from more contemporary artists.[5]

On the lower floor of MOCA, there is a theater that hosts multimedia performances and shows, as well as seminars and lectures. Sometimes in the summer, there are also classical and jazz concerts performed outdoors below the red pyramids.[6]

Wells Fargo History Museum
South of the Museum of Contemporary Art is the Wells Fargo History Museum at 333 Grand Avenue, which exhibits old mining equipment, a stage coach, chunks of gold, antiques, photographs, and other memorabilia from the 19th century and a simulated stagecoach journey from St. Louis to San Francisco.[7]

Westin Bonaventure Hotel
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel is one of LA’s most unusual landmarks, designed by John Portman who also is known for Atlanta’s Peachtree Plaza. The building includes an office complex and a shopping mall, and features spiraling ramps and balconies and a famed glass elevator that runs up and down on the outside of the building, providing great views of Downtown. The hotel also has a skyline bar that gives you a bird’s eye view of Bunker Hill’s skyline.[8]

Library Tower
The Library Tower is a cylindrical skyscraper at Fifth Street and Grand Avenue designed by I.M. Pei’s firm. It rises 73 stories high and is the tallest structure west of the Mississippi.[9]

Riordan Central Library
The Riordan Central Library is marvel of a building. It has a colossal atrium that appears out of nowhere after you step off the escalators that ascend to the upper floors. The outdoor gardens are pleasant to stroll through with its display of animal sculptures and fountains. The lower floors of the building feature sculptures by Lee Laurie. And the building is highlighted by a multi-colored pyramid roof.[10]

Bunker Hill Steps
The Bunker Hill Steps are across from Fifth Street and modeled after the Spanish Steps in Rome. It curves up Bunker Hill between several terraces that are occupied by outdoor cafes and boutique shops, and finally reaching the top, where you’ll find the Source Figure nude sculpture.[11]

References:
“Angels Flight.” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_Flight>

Dickey, Jeff. Los Angeles, 3rd Edition. Rough Guides, 2003. ISBN: 1843530589.

[1] Dickey, 64
[2] Angels
[3] Dickey, 64
[4] Id. at 67
[5] Id. at 65, 67
[6] Id. at 66
[7] Id. at 67
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id. at 68
[11] Id.