This shiny Altadena bunny paves trail toward return of quirky museum lost in fire

It says a lot about Altadena that the sight of a giant silver bunny with a big red bow round its neck would generate nary a second look. What the 14-foot-tall, stainless steel sculpture did engender Friday was a whole lot of Altadena love.

And the massive size of the new bunny in town was no accident.

“I wanted people to know that we weren’t just coming back a little bit,” said Steve Lubanski, co-founder of The Bunny Museum with his wife, Candace Frazee. “This was going to be an exponential jump in what the museum is and will be absolutely unbelievable.”

More than 60 people turned out to see the couple unveil the latest addition to their storied collection, most of which burned in the Eaton fire along with its building.

Scanner, with a mirror finish not unlike L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, now watches over the corner of Lake and Altadena avenues right where The Bunny Museum once stood. His appearance was a welcome boon to the town just one year away from the Eaton fire when 19 people died and more than 9,000 structures were leveled. The blaze took 24 days to contain.

Lubanski said he and his wife received a gift on Jan. 7 and 8, 2025.

“We were given the ability to renew the museum in a way that we never thought we could before,” he told the crowd, some wearing bunny ear headbands. “I know a lot of people don’t look at it that way, but that’s the only way we can look at it.”

Situating a giant stainless steel rabbit on a landscaped rock pedestal that Lubanski constructed is their message to the Altadena community that its museum “haretakers” are on their way back.

“This is a very hoppy day,” Frazee said, displaying an architectural rendering of the third iteration of their Guinness World Record-holding museum. It will be a modern, two-story structure with underground parking, an exhibition hall and a sculpture garden.

Lubanski said the unveiling made him ponder what makes Altadena so unique and different, its residents made up of the great minds of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and artists of every form, from musicians to world-class film and TV professionals.

“They’re all dreamers,” Lubanski said. “JPL people dream of the future and of space, musicians dream of what we can hear and what we’ve never heard before, and the TV and movie people dream of what we can see and what we’ve never seen before. So this is truly a unique area and we take that very seriously.”

Wesley Zucco of Monrovia donated the cost of the $14,100 statue. Frazee and Lubanski commissioned artist Jesse Zhao in Hebei, China to produce the design, which he created in pieces, and hammered and polished by hand.

Zucco said the gift is a small way to honor a couple who always dreamed big. Lubanski mentored Zucco about 30 years ago, when the retired psychiatric nurse was in his rootless 20s. Lubanski, who owned a bike shop, was a much-admired figure in that cycling community.

“He helped me change my life, he taught me discipline, he was my best man at my wedding,” Zucco said. “I would go to their Sunday dinners.”

Now a member of the museum board, Zucco said the couple personify the John Lennon saying, “If you’re not dreaming, you’re not living.”

“I can’t think of a better example of that than these two people here,” he said. “They turned their love story into a museum.”

The Bunny Museum story started in 1993, when Frazee accepted the gift of a white bunny plush from her “honey bunny” Lubanski. Their collection grew so massive they opened The Bunny Museum in Pasadena in 1998, moving to Altadena in 2017, and attracting hare-y fans who ogled everything from museum-worthy art work to ceramic figurines.

Boasting the Guinness World Record designation of having “the largest collection of rabbit-related items” in 2023, The Bunny Museum had more than 60,000 pieces when the Eaton fire struck.

Donated items, and about 20 pieces that the couple were able to save from the flames, bring their current collection to about 40,000, Frazee said.

The outpouring of support, from Altadena locals such as Victoria Knapp, former chair of the Altadena Town Council, and Mark Mariscal of the Altadena Rotary and Altadena Library Foundation, was evident on Friday.

Maggie Cortez, owner of El Patron Mexican Restaurant down Lake Avenue, dashed up the street to cheer the couple on.

“It’s amazing. It’s a blessing and it’s always, si se puede. We can do it,” she said.

Dave Stone, founder of Altadena Cars and Coffee, rounded up a forklift and a crane from a construction company when he heard Lubanski was having trouble getting the sculpture on its pedestal.

Ricardo Salcido of Salcido Earthworks showed up with a crew for free, Stone said. It’s the low-key Altadena way.

Retired teachers Jeanne and Charles of Simi Valley arrived with a large, light brown bunny plush, their latest donation to a special place in their personal history.

They were newlyweds when they had their first Mother’s Day date at The Bunny Museum in 2004.

“My husband brought me as a surprise because he knew I loved rabbits,” Jeanne said. “So we’ve been coming every since. We’re now life members of The Bunny Museum and ever since the fire we started coming over a few days and bringing over as many good bunnies as we can find.”

Even without a museum on site, “we just love coming here. It’s such a happy place.”

Still living in Tujunga, and still mulling over rebuilding options, Steve Collins and Sharon McGunigle said Scanner can now serve as a beacon in town, much like Norm. Jr. the werewolf on Fair Oaks Avenue or the Star of Palawoo that lights up the hillside near Alta Loma Drive at Christmas time.

“It’s an actual material thing you can see and look at and point to,” McGunigle said. “And yes, it’s a symbol to me of that one step and that we want Altadena to stay weird.”

Collins, a spacecraft engineer at JPL, and McGunigle, who works in film and television costume building, wanted to see a new element of the unique town they’ve called home for 19 years.

“I like to see all the Altadena people gathered together,” McGunigle said. “I kind of go to a lot of these things just to sort of see everyone, just to be reassured that this community is coming back.”

They said they are looking forward to seeing the new museum open in 2028.

Artist Keni Arts set up his easel across the way to capture the event. After the fire, the longtime Altadenan has documented iconic spots in town and donated his artwork to rebuilding efforts.

“This means a lot because it’s a sign that Altadena is recovering,” Keni said. “I’m glad to see that a lot of the homes are being rebuilt now, but businesses are slow to come back. To see Steve put that bunny out here, saying, ‘I’m moving forward with this,’ that’s important.”

And the cool morning outing was a good reason to be among friends again, Keni added.

“You know, seeing the buildings is one thing, but seeing the people, that’s special.”