Friday, February 20, 2026

Bunny Museum to Unveil Sculpture at Fire-Damaged Altadena Site

Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski, co-founders of The Bunny Museum in Altadena, marked Valentine’s Day with a towering stainless steel sculpture donated by a Monrovia resident. The official unveiling of the new statue is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 20. (Photo courtesy of The Bunny Museum)

The unwrapping of “Scanner” marks a public moment for the museum destroyed in the 2025 Eaton Fire

The Bunny Museum will unwrap a bunny sculpture called “Scanner” Friday morning at its site on Lake Avenue, more than 13 months after the Eaton Fire destroyed the building and more than 60,000 rabbit-themed items inside it.

The ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. at 2605 Lake Ave., is scheduled at the museum site, which has been closed since the January 2025 fire destroyed the building. The museum, co-founded by Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski, once held the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest collection of bunny items, with more than 46,000 documented pieces, according to previously published Pasadena Now reports.

The Eaton Fire swept through Altadena on January 7 and 8, 2025, destroying more than 9,400 structures, killing 19 people and burning 14,021 acres before it was fully contained on January 31, according to Cal Fire. The Bunny Museum was among the last buildings in Altadena to burn.

Frazee said in a July 2025 interview that she and Lubanski spent the night of the fire trying to save the museum with a garden hose before winds shifted and flames overtook the building.

“We stayed up all night with a garden hose saving the museum and the apartment building to the north of the museum,” Frazee said.

The lost collection included figurines, jewelry, toys, books, paintings and personal belongings, including Frazee’s wedding dress, according to previously published reports. Since the fire, donors from around the world have sent more than 33,000 replacement items to help restore the collection.

“What is most heartwarming is seeing items that were in the museum,” Frazee said in the July 2025 interview. “Like seeing old friends again.”

The museum was founded in 1998 from the couple’s tradition of exchanging rabbit-themed gifts. It moved from Pasadena to its dedicated Altadena location in 2017. The museum aimed to reopen by 2028, its 30th anniversary, according to Pasadena Now reports from July 2025. Architects have been hired, soil surveys completed and new designs developed, Frazee said at the time.

The rebuilt museum is planned to include a fire-resistant steel structure, a permanent Eaton Fire memorial gallery, rotating community galleries and wildfire safety education, according to the museum’s co-founders.

The sculpture unwrapping ceremony is Friday, February 20, 2026, at 10 a.m. at The Bunny Museum, 2605 Lake Ave., Altadena. The event was listed among weekend events by LAist. Additional details were not available at press time. Information: thebunnymuseum.com.

“The Bunny Museum will always be joyous because it is about love,” Frazee has said. “It started on Valentine’s Day, after all.”