Criminal History

The 1947project is a new historical blog launched under the precept that "Los Angeles in 1947 was a social powderkeg. War-damaged returning soldiers were threatened by a new kind of independant 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., and the traumas these conflicts sparked."

The first week's posts, made on the same days that the crimes occured, include West Covina's Police Chief getting himself shot in a suspicious incident in an orange grove, a jealous working girl taking out her maybe-fiance with a bread knife, and a demented ex-soldier assaulting his living room furniture and wife. Included are maps to many of the crime scenes. -Kim Cooper