March 2005: 1947project began when Kim Cooper decided to blog about one Los Angeles crime daily, and Nathan Marsak followed most of these posts with one of his own on his visit to the crime scene, with photos and discussions of how the neighborhoods have changed. The original 1947project blog is archived on blogspot, and the tales from that blog are being integrated into the site you’re now visiting.
This is the original mission statement for the 1947 blog: "Los Angeles in 1947 was a social powderkeg. War-damaged returning soldiers were threatened by a new kind of independent female, who in turn found her freedoms disappearing as male workers returned to the factories. These conflicts worked themselves out in dark ways. The Black Dahlia is the most famous victim of 1947’s sex wars, but hardly the only one. The 1947project seeks to document this pivotal year in L.A., through period reporting and visits to the scenes as they are today."
March 2006: 1947project moves to its own URL and unveils a new year of research, 1907, and a new primary writer, Larry Harnisch, whose excellent stories in the comments section of the 1947 blog were one of the best things about the original site. While Kim and Nathan focus on their Crime Bus tours, Larry explores the forgotten Los Angeles of 100 years ago with a series of fascinating posts on architecture, crime, city planning, mental illness, law, marriage and many other aspects of daily life in 1907 L.A.
March 2007: The site makes a quantum leap to 1927. Contributors to the site are Kim Cooper, Nathan Marsak, Mary McCoy, Lynn Peril and Joan Renner.
March 2008: Launch of a new time travel blog, On Bunker Hill, a survey of a lost neighborhood’s crimes, joys and mysteries. Contributors are Kim Cooper, Mary McCoy, Joan Renner, Richard Schave and John Toomey.
June 2009: Launch of yet another time travel blog, In SRO Land, exploring the lost lore of the Historic Core. Contributors are Kim Cooper, Barbara Bogaev, John Buntin, Rob Clampett, Adrienne Crew, Joan Renner and Richard Schave.