The Johnstown Inclined Plane was built two years after the Great Flood of 1889 as a direct response to the disaster. The city had learned a grim lesson about being trapped in a valley with no high ground escape route, and the incline — connecting downtown Johnstown to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill — was designed so that people and even vehicles could be evacuated rapidly if the waters rose again.
Today the funicular is both a practical transit link and a tourist attraction. The cars rise at a 71.9 percent grade, and at the top you get sweeping views across the valley, the confluence of the Stonycreek and Little Conemaugh rivers, and the patchwork of the city below. There is a small museum at the upper station with additional flood history, and a restaurant with the valley spread out below the windows. The ride itself is quick — just over a minute each way — but the views and the history make it worth the trip.