Your 2024 Hearts in SF are out a little early this year at the Ferry Building, and one of the lovely creations is constructed of 88,748 LEGO bricks.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the beloved Hearts In SF project, which places 400-pound, six-foot-wide hearts at various public spots in San Francisco, generally around Valentine’s Day. This year they will mostly be at the Ferry Building, but the SF General Hospital Foundation, the org behind behind the project, has put them out a little early this year. And one of the giant hearts is sure to go over like a ton of bricks, as the foundation announced that one of the hearts in this year’s batch is made of 88,748 LEGO pieces.

Image: SF General Hospital Foundation

Behold Inside by LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya, made entirely of LEGO bricks. “Nathan Sawaya’s LEGO Heart is emblematic of the tremendous talent that the Program attracts, and we’re proud to uplift the work of this year’s cohort of local artists while finding homes for these Heart sculptures to further support quality patient care at ZSFG [Zuckerberg SF General Hospital]” the foundation's CEO Kim Meredith said in a release.

Image: SF General Hospital Foundation

Like all of the hearts, this baby is up for auction, with proceeds going to the SF General Hospital Foundation. The starting bid is $40,000, and another one this year has already sold for $100,000. (In 2020, one of them sold for $3 million.) For something in a more reasonable price range, there are also smaller Table Top Hearts and Mini Hearts, many of which are also currently on display at the Ferry Building.


So why does a hospital with “Zuckerberg” in the name have to do a fundraiser?

“The hospital is an entity of the City and County of San Francisco,“ Hearts in SF’s former chairperson Skyler Hudak told SFist in 2020. “Because it’s a city-run institution, you can’t make a donation. The foundation was born to accept contributions and then figure out how they could be distributed to inspire better patient care, more innovative programming, and to support the doctors and nurses with the resources they need to be a world-class institution.”

The hearts remain on display at the Ferry Building through February 29. Though they will be absent from February 5-9 when they’re moved to The Conservatory at One Sansome for the 2024 Hearts in SF Gala (February 8). And you can see all of the 2024 Hearts in SF online.

Related: Meet Your 2023 'Hearts in San Francisco,' Now On Display at the Ferry Building [SFist]

Images: SF General Hospital Foundation