Once dubbed “one of the weirdest, wildest, places you can visit” by SFGate, the Bunny Museum in Altadena, California, burned to the ground in 2025’s Greater Los Angeles Wildfires. Founded by Candace Frazee and her husband Steve Lubanski and dedicated to all things bunny, the beloved SoCal institution had been open to the public since 1998. During those years, it had gained a cult following and appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records three times.
Prior to its destruction, the Bunny Museum housed at least 45,000 pieces of rabbit memorabilia, including antiquities such as an Egyptian amulet, vintage toys, ceramic figurines, books, Rose Parade float bunnies, Bugs Bunny collectibles, framed magazine covers featuring Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, and even live rabbits. (These last were saved from the fire, along with the couple’s cats.)
Not all the museum’s displays were for the faint-hearted; in addition to themed rooms explaining the role of rabbits in pop culture, science, and superstition, it boasted a restricted section dedicated to bunny exploitation throughout history. Describing the collection in 2018, the Los Angeles Times wrote, “The rabbit array may seem to tilt to kitsch, but the vast stockpile harbors insight and imparts a quirky sort of gravitas.”
Now, a 14-foot-tall, 1,100-pound stainless steel bunny sculpture joins the 60,000 or so rabbit-related items that fans have donated to Frazee and Lubanski since the fire. The sculpture, which has been named “Scanner,” was created by Jesse Zhao of Shijiazhuang, China, and given to the museum by Monrovia, California, resident Wesley Zucco. A public unveiling was held February 20.
“We hope Scanner will lift the community’s spirit after such a devastating fire,” Frazee told Pasadena Weekly. “And it will let the neighbors know the Bunny Museum is going to hop back up out of the ashes.”
According to the institution’s GoFundMe page, the Bunny Museum plans to reopen in a brand-new building in 2028.
