6,000 homes were destroyed in Altadena, L.A. County, by the recent wildfires. In many cases, all that remains standing is the chimney and fireplace — often covered in tiles designed by artist Ernest Batchelder. @Dwell writes about a grassroots movement to salvage some of those tiles — and the history of the storied neighborhood. "Whether you’re grieving a person or, in this case, a house filled with memories, it helps to have something that you can physically hang on to," says Brenda Davidge. "Having the tile helps us with moving forward because while we know the house and everything that was in it is gone, the tiles are a physical reminder that the fire didn’t take everything, that these things have lasted a hundred-plus years and made it through that crazy fire so they can keep going beyond that too."
