House Museum

 

Project Chimney

Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA

 

 

Palisades Fire Memorial [Artifact Catalogue G–L], 2025.
 

 

Phase I: Artifact Catalogue

Phase II: Palisades Fire Memorial

 

After the devastating 2025 Palisades Fire, the architectural heritage of the Pacific Palisades has been reduced to isolated fragments—scattering people, history, and communities. Among the rubble, historically significant chimneys have survived, some designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Jr., Paul R. Williams, Richard Neutra, and Paul László. House Museum works to preserve these structures through documentation and relocation. Together, our goal is to save some of the surviving treasures that represent the evolution of Southern California architecture and design.

 

House Museum, in collaboration with Pacific Palisades Preservation Coalition including Los Angeles Conservancy, is producing an Artifact Catalogue. This digital database highlights the unique architectural heritage of the Pacific Palisades, from Mediterranean villas to Coastal New England homes dating back to the 1920s. We are collecting oral histories, material data, photographs, and videos captured throughout the community engagement process. All data is built from the State of California - Office of Historic Preservation - Historic Resources Inventory standard.

 

Palisades Fire Memorial, Concept Rendering © Milton Lau, AIA, Evan Hall, House Museum

 

 

Phase II of Project Chimney is the creation of the Palisades Fire Memorial—a public installation built of salvaged fireplaces and chimneys. Working with local residents and public land stewards, the memorial invites the community to gather, while recalling bygone structures as a critical architectural guide for future rebuild trajectories. In order to resist complete erasure, we are working to relocate select structures. Salvaged freestanding chimneys will stand as beacons for future generations to remember the past.

 

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