The 1947 Project’s Crime Bus Tour and The Lost Weekend

I was browsing through Gold Star Events to try and find something to do last weekend for a date and I came across a crime bus tour of Los Angeles for half price so I mean how could I say no. But this was no ordinary crime bus tour, this was “The Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour” ran by the 1947 Project. Part of the 1947 Project’s “The Lost Weekend”.

Oh and if you don’t know what the Black Dahlia is… check out this great site the LA times put together.
http://webapp1.latimes.com/theblackdahlia/
or the standard wiki… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Short

On The Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour, Kim Cooper and Nathan Marsak guide their passengers to more than two dozen scenes from the real and imaginary history of the Black Dahlia case. Along the way, they’ll explore the social history of postwar Los Angeles, several Black Dahlia killer theories will be debunked and a little known but likely suspect will be introduced. The tour will bring to life the real Elizabeth Short and some of the peculiar characters who knew her in life or become obsessed with her in death.

“January 15th 2007 marks the 60th anniversary of the the day that Elizabeth Short was found murdered and mutilated in a lot at 39th and Norton. The murder captivated Los Angeles and set off a media frenzy fueled by the lurid life and brutal death of “The Black Dahlia”. 60 years later this crime has still gone unsolved and still continues to captivate not just Los Angeles- but the entire world.

B.Beretta Unlimted, Ramzi Abed and 1947project have all joined efforts to bring to you The Lost Weekend. This weekend presents an unrivaled array of tours, film and art that all relate to Elizabeth Short and her life and death as The Black Dahlia.

I’m not really a crime geek and this whole subject matter really didn’t fascinate me much but after this tour and after seeing how passionate and insane these people are about these deaths around LA, I think I’m going to start reading up on it. Anyway, so I signed up through Gold Star Events for half price and on Sunday, my new friend and I hopped on a large motor coach downtown and off we went hunting down the past.

The tour lasts around 5 hours and most of it was spent on the bus with three stops. We ventured all around downtown, and then up to Hollywood, Los Feliz, and then back around to downtown. We drove past all of the old places Elizabeth Short (Black Dahlia) lived and everybody that was a main suspect (there were a lot) and even the office of her gynaecologist. I’ve never been bombarded with so much information in such a short amount of time. I mean really and I’ve taken some serious history courses and love that but 11AM on a Sunday morning I was just like Whoa.

Nathan Marsak and Kim Cooper

The climax of the tour was our first stop actually when we got off the bus and stood where they found the body of Short cut in half with various grotesque things done to her. I mean if your really want to know do a google search. There are tons of websites that are dedicated to the BD murder alone. There are more theories surrounding this murder than theories why humans are on planet Earth. No kidding. Granted there were a lot of unsolved murders in 1947 but this one just has always fascinated people a little more. I could really ramble on about just this one murder for hours but I won’t.

Nathan Marsak on the bus

The bus stops at the Krispy Kreme on Crenshaw in South LA and also at this amazing gelato bar in Hollywood. I’m going to write a separate entry for it next. They even made a flavor called “The Black Dahlia” for the tour. And they give you tickets so one scoop is free.

This tour was themed the Black Dahlia just because it was the anniversary, but they offer several other crime bus tours including “Pasadena Confidential”, “Weird West Adams”, “Nightmares Of Bunker Hill”, “Halloween Horrors”, and other special events. Check out their website for when they run. It’s normally once a month unless something special is going on. And check out Gold Star Events to see if they are on there. Gold Star is free and takes about one minute to sign up for.

The 1947 Project are a group of three people, Kim Cooper, Larry Harnisch, and Nathan Marsak. They are brilliant. By far the most interesting people I’ve met in Los Angeles since I’ve lived here. They love this city and especially it’s past. It’s their passion and it’s fantastic even if you don’t have a interest for this stuff to just go and hear them talk about all of their research for 5 hours. They are very informative and also very entertaining. You’re bound to learn something. And it will probably spark your interest and get you into this stuff too.

Where the body of The Black Dahlia was found

Photo by Markland

The crime scene Jan 15th, 1947. Sidewalk was there but not the house.

It’s first off a blog, 1947project.com, which they blog about various crimes that took place around LA in 1947, and also throughout LA’s past. There’s always something interesting to read about. Check it out and subscribe to their e-mail list.

This was a part of “The Lost Weekend” (http://myspace.com/thelostweekendlosangeles) which was composed of the tour, the new Black Dahlia film, and the art galleries downtown. “Her Name Was Elizabeth: 60 Years of Obsession with L.A.’s Black Dahlia”

“This multimedia art gallery curated by Nico Bella exhibits the artistic infatuation / obsession sparked in countless artists, photographers and filmmakers by this horrible act.

Using 2 gallery spaces, one designated “Elizabeth” the other “The Black Dahlia” each artist explores the contrast of truth vs. myth, reality vs. report, the actual vs. sensational-and the transformation that violent crime exacts on public image.

Underneath all the salacious stories, black lace and mysterious persona she was just a 22 year old girl trying to make it in Hollywood. Underneath all the headlines, slashes and gashes-Elizabeth Short was someone’s daughter.”

You want more information, here are the links:

1947project.com
http://myspace.com/thelostweekendlosangeles

For Tons of photos from the tour, Go here… Flickr Photo Album

The Gallery and movie are at:

The Regent Galleries
446/450 South Main St.
Downtown Los Angeles,CA 90071
The show will hang from January 11th -Feb 9th, 2007 with a closing party on the 8th.

*For gallery hours or information please phone curator Nico Bella @ 323.445.6037

Sigh… I just feel like I scratched the surface. Also a cool side note. Kim Cooper, one of the tour guides and bloggers runs Scram Magazine and also the website and project that is trying to save the 76 balls. If you’re not aware, they are starting to take down all the old 76 gas station balls around LA and replace them with a 2D flat version. I read about this on a blog a few months ago and was intrigued. Check it out. http://www.savethe76ball.com/.