diff --git a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
index cf9a849..5444c18 100644
--- a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
   end
 
   before_filter :user_setup, :check_if_login_required, :set_localization
+  before_filter :check_for_search_archived
   filter_parameter_logging :password
   protect_from_forgery
 
@@ -60,6 +61,15 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
     User.current = find_current_user
   end
 
+  def check_for_search_archived
+    if params[:search_archived]
+      flash.now[:error] = "Search Archived: suspending access checks for admin user."
+      $search_archived = params[:search_archived].present?
+    else
+      $search_archived = nil
+    end
+  end
+
   # Returns the current user or nil if no user is logged in
   # and starts a session if needed
   def find_current_user
diff --git a/app/models/project.rb b/app/models/project.rb
index c3b5530..b428065 100644
--- a/app/models/project.rb
+++ b/app/models/project.rb
@@ -146,6 +146,14 @@ class Project < ActiveRecord::Base
   # * :member => limit the condition to the user projects
   def self.allowed_to_condition(user, permission, options={})
     base_statement = "#{Project.table_name}.status=#{Project::STATUS_ACTIVE}"
+
+    if $search_archived 
+      #allow admins access to search_access checkbox
+      if user.admin?
+        base_statement = "#{Project.table_name}.status IN (#{Project::STATUS_ARCHIVED},#{Project::STATUS_ACTIVE})"
+      end
+    end
+
     if perm = Redmine::AccessControl.permission(permission)
       unless perm.project_module.nil?
         # If the permission belongs to a project module, make sure the module is enabled
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index c06a907..61658c0 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -398,6 +398,12 @@ class User < Principal
   # * nil with options[:global] set : check if user has at least one role allowed for this action, 
   #   or falls back to Non Member / Anonymous permissions depending if the user is logged
   def allowed_to?(action, context, options={}, &block)
+    
+    # allow admins full access in case of search_archived
+    if($search_archived)
+      return true if admin?
+    end
+
     if context && context.is_a?(Project)
       # No action allowed on archived projects
       return false unless context.active?
diff --git a/app/views/search/index.rhtml b/app/views/search/index.rhtml
index 0cedc4b..3b1993e 100644
--- a/app/views/search/index.rhtml
+++ b/app/views/search/index.rhtml
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@
 <label><%= check_box_tag 'all_words', 1, @all_words %> <%= l(:label_all_words) %></label>
 <%= hidden_field_tag 'titles_only', '', :id => nil %>
 <label><%= check_box_tag 'titles_only', 1, @titles_only %> <%= l(:label_search_titles_only) %></label>
+<% # Injects search_archived checkbox, for admins only %>
+<% if User.current.admin? %>
+  <label><%= check_box_tag 'search_archived', 1, $search_archived %> Search archived</label>
+<% end %>
 </p>
 <p>
 <% @object_types.each do |t| %>
@@ -28,7 +32,9 @@
     <h3><%= l(:label_result_plural) %> (<%= @results_by_type.values.sum %>)</h3>
     <dl id="search-results">
       <% @results.each do |e| %>
-        <dt class="<%= e.event_type %>"><%= content_tag('span', h(e.project), :class => 'project') unless @project == e.project %> <%= link_to highlight_tokens(truncate(e.event_title, :length => 255), @tokens), e.event_url %></dt>
+        <% # appends ?search_archived=1 query arg to link url if appropriate %> 
+        <% search_archived_item_url = !$search_archived ? e.event_url : e.event_url.merge( {"search_archived" => "1" })  %>
+        <dt class="<%= e.event_type %>"><%= content_tag('span', h(e.project), :class => 'project') unless @project == e.project %> <%= link_to highlight_tokens(truncate(e.event_title, :length => 255), @tokens), search_archived_item_url %></dt>
         <dd><span class="description"><%= highlight_tokens(e.event_description, @tokens) %></span>
         <span class="author"><%= format_time(e.event_datetime) %></span></dd>
       <% end %>