87-year-old Clem Reinkemeyer has pursued an unusual passion — collecting bricks from around the globe. His lifelong hobby has now earned him a place in the Guinness World Records as the owner of the world’s largest collection of bricks. Reinkemeyer’s remarkable collection consists of 8,882 unique bricks, gathered from nearly every U.S. state and several countries, including Germany, Greece, Ireland, and New Zealand. The record was officially recognized on 29 April 2023.
The eclectic assortment is housed in a specially constructed “brick barn” on his Tulsa property, where each piece is carefully stored and cataloged. Among the collection’s highlights is a Roman brick dating back to A.D. 100, believed to be more than 1,000 years old, and a sidewalk brick made at a Washington facility now occupied by the Pentagon. The path to official recognition was a family-led surprise. While Reinkemeyer was away, his daughter Celia and her husband Dan Bisett — who helped build the barn — secretly organized a documented count of the bricks with friends and submitted the application to Guinness World Records. When Clem returned, he was presented with the certificate, much to his delight.
Reinkemeyer says what drew him to bricks was less about the objects themselves and more about the history they carry. “They have names, and you can trace them back historically to places,” he explained, reflecting on how each brick tells a story of its origin.
Among his personal favorites are those with quirky features, such as a brick stamped “Tulsa” with a backward “s,” which he considers especially valuable due to such imperfections. What began as a simple curiosity turned into a unique record-breaking legacy, cementing Reinkemeyer’s place in the annals of unusual world records.
