House Museum Launches Fundraising ‘Rebuild Bricks’

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

House Museum will release “Rebuild Bricks” on the one-year anniversary of the Los Angeles fires with two purposes, according to the nonprofit: “practical building materials for reconstruction” and “symbolic collectibles that support community recovery.”

The bricks are available in three editions—Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Malibu—and available as single-unit collectibles or by pallet (450 bricks). Preorder began on December 1, with an official release date of January 7, 2026.

The “Rebuild Bricks” are 8” by 3.75” by 2.25” and weigh about four pounds. They are Grade SW (severe weather rated), fire resistant, and capable for use for exterior walls, patio walkways, outdoor hardscaping, and more, according to House Museum.

“The ‘Rebuild Bricks’ offer homeowners, contractors and architects meaningful construction material that will directly benefit those impacted by the Los Angeles fires,” the organization wrote.

The “locally made, commemorative red clay bricks” are produced in collaboration with Pacific Clay. Proceeds will help fund the Palisades Fire Memorial (Project Chimney), as well as “advance House Museum’s mission” to “preserve historically significant landmarks through the integration of site-specific artworks and community engagement.” It has facilitated 10 project sites since 2022, according to its website.

“Each installation—interior, virtual or otherwise—becomes an access point that connects the public to a constellation of citywide programs and exhibits,” according to the organization. “House Museum responds to challenges at the intersection of art, architecture and historic preservation.”

House Museum preserved six “historic chimneys” from houses destroyed in the January fire that were designed by architects Richard Neutra, Ray Kappe and Eric Lloyd Wright.

“Chimneys constructed of legacy Higgins Bricks and others built for Hollywood starlets Louise Randall Pierson and Beryl Mercer were also saved,” the statement continued. “The chimney collection ranges in historical significance from associations with global design movements, to local brick-making traditions, to Hollywood’s sprawl up the California coast.”

A Palisades Fire Memorial is projected to be a “commemorative place for community gathering and remembrance,” with an installation of seven “historic chimneys in the Santa Monica Mountains.”

House Museum Director Evan Hall participated in a Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting on May 8 to discuss the initiative. The PPCC Board voted to support the project during its May 22 meeting.

“As soon as the fires broke out, me and my team began thinking … ‘How do we help?’” Hall said during the May 8 meeting. “How do we use our expertise as artists and architects to create something that can produce hope and something that can inspire, not just Palisadians, but also others that have gone through similar disasters or crises?”

As a result, Project Chimney emerged as an initiative to “catalogue, relocate and memorialize a selection of historically significant chimneys in the Pacific Palisades burn zone,” according to a statement.

Over 55 historically significant chimneys were identified, dating back to Palisades’ founding in 1922. The organization then worked with community members to salvage and preserve select chimneys.

The launch of the “Rebuild Bricks” is supported by community organizations, including Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, Palisades Recovery Coalition and PPCC.

Fundraising tiers for a single-unit brick are Student ($55), Adult ($150), Family ($450), Nonprofit ($250) and Corporation ($550). Pallets are available for $1,125.

“Each ‘Rebuild Brick’ is an artifact of Los Angeles history, an extension of the Palisades Fire Memorial that invites nationwide solidarity and a commitment from homeowners to rebuild while honoring what was lost,” House Museum wrote.