About Yesteryard
Stories of what used to be here, told by a sidewalk historian.
How it started
Yesteryard began on the road. This fall Mark Koester spent three weeks walking through Portugal, Spain and France, building a pocket guide on his phone as he went: a map of the places worth stopping at, which told him about each one as he reached it.
Back home on the Venice Canals, Los Angeles, he wanted the same thing for the streets outside his door, with the history in it. What stood here, who lived here, and what happened to it. The first episode is about his own neighborhood.
What it is
The app
A free guide to each place: spots worth stopping at, walks, and bike, Metro and bus routes. Keep your phone in your pocket and it tells you about each place as you reach it.
Episodes
Stories of what used to be here, released in seasons. Each works as a walk or as a listen at home. Season 1 is five places in Los Angeles; the first, Venice Beach, is out now and free.
How we make it
- Ordinary places
- The streets people walk every day, as well as the famous ones.
- Every fact sourced
- Each episode lists the archives, newspapers and histories it draws on.
- Every photo credited
- We say who took it, where it’s kept, and the terms we show it under.
- Told on the spot
- Each episode is also a walk, so you can stand where it happened.
Who’s behind it
Mark Koester
Founder, writer and narrator
Mark lives on the Venice Canals, Los Angeles. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, lived in China for nearly a decade, and is a writer, product designer and software engineer. He researches, writes and tells the episodes, and builds the app.
Mark’s blogHis music: Stellar Mammals
The photos come from libraries, historical societies and photographers, each credited where it appears. Neighbors on the canals and the app’s first testers walk each episode before it’s out and tell us what we got wrong. Yesteryard is made by Stay Reflective Company, a small company in Los Angeles.
Want to help, contribute or support?
Know a place’s story, keep an archive of photos, run a neighborhood group or a local business, write about Los Angeles, or want Yesteryard in your city? We’d like to hear from you.
hello@yesteryard.com