See LEGO® builds inspired by the museum’s historic properties and begin building your own creations

SALEM, MA – This August, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) unveils the third installment in its ongoing series of pop-up shops at 135 Essex Street in Salem. Following on the success of the Bat Box (2023) and the Ghost Box (2024), PEM is pleased to unveil the Brick Box adjacent to the museum’s main entrance. The Brick Box is created through a partnership with LEGO and LEGO master builder Jeff Chapman, who has been commissioned to create a series of original builds inspired by PEM’s extensive architecture collection and popular historic house walking tours. Opening with a ribbon-cutting event on Friday, August 1 at 9:30 am and running through December 2025, the Brick Box will showcase LEGO kits as well as accessories and even jewelry made from LEGO pieces. All sales and proceeds support the Peabody Essex Museum. More details are available at pem.org/brickbox.

“Salem’s architectural legacy continues to attract and inspire visitors from around the world. With the new Brick Box pop-up store, we’re thrilled for the public to make connections between PEM’s historic house collection, the fascinating details they see on the museum’s architecture walking tours and the creative possibilities inherent in LEGO models and custom builds,” said Victor Oliveria, PEM’s Director of Merchandising.

Jeff Chapman is a graphic designer by trade. He started sharing his MOCs, or “my own creations,” of Salem’s most iconic buildings on his YouTube channel Spooky Brixx and quickly gained a following for his whimsical but highly detailed replicas of historic houses. His first PEM creations were the Samuel Pickman House, Ropes Mansion, First Quaker Meeting House, John Ward House and Daniel Bray House. Diminutive details include individually designed Lego trees full of red and gold autumn leaves, eerie lights, trick-or-treating minifigures and even a miniature hidden squirrel.

The Brick Box will showcase LEGO brand products and more — including exclusive access to the Hocus Pocus set of PEM’s Ropes Mansion, normally only found in official LEGO stores. Visitors to the new Brick Box will also see five new models of PEM’s historic homes created by Champan, including the Gardner-Pingree House, the Andrew-Safford House and the Peirce-Nichols House.

ABOUT PEM’S ARCHITECTURE COLLECTION

PEM has pioneered historic preservation since the 1860s and stewards more than a dozen historic structures. These include the historic Ropes Mansion and Yin Yu Tang, an 18th-century Chinese merchant's home transported from China and re-erected in Salem. PEM’s commitment and contributions to Salem’s ever-evolving collection of architectural treasures include two centuries of commissions, acquisitions, bequests and partnerships.

PEM’s predecessor organizations, the Essex Institute and the Peabody Museum, acquired at least one historic structure in nearly every decade of the 20th century. These structures and accompanying gardens span four centuries of the American experience, from European colonization to the industrial era. Together, they form the largest collection of historical architecture held by any art museum in the United States.

Four of PEM’s collected buildings are National Historic Landmarks, the highest historic preservation designation in the country, and another six are individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Together, these holdings celebrate Salem’s diversity of architectural styles and illuminate the city’s vibrant history.