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Watts Towers
The Nuestro Pueblo, otherwise known as the Watts Towers, is one of the historical landmarks in the Los Angeles, California. The 17 interconnected structures, which reach up to the height of 99 feet (30 m), used to be one of the notable structures in the area before it was dwarfed by skyscrapers and huge buildings. Built in a span of 33 years from 1921 to 1954 by an Italian immigrant construction worker named Sabato Rodia, these towers often catch the attention of passersby with its unusual design and materials. Architects often refer to Sabato’s design as a superb example of vernacular architecture, which uses locally available resources and is guided by the cultural and historical context of the time.
Many people marveled at the work of Rodia. The towers are made of steel pipes and rods, wrapped with wire mesh and coated with mortar. The towers are decorated with pieces of tile, glass, porcelain, bed frames, scrap metal, sea shells, ceramic tiles and bottles. Since Rodia did not have the proper equipment or the predetermined design to build his towers, he used his imagination, his bare hands and some hand tools to work on his towers. He often used the nearby railroad tracks a sort of makeshift vice to bend scrap rebar which he used as framework. He worked alone during his spare time, working often long into the night.
The people in the area thought that the work of Sabato Rodia was weird, so they do not really stop their children from vandalizing it. In the end, Rodia got so tired of the treatment from his neighbors that he gave away his property and left for good. Little did he know that his work would become a cultural landmark of Los Angeles. Today, thousands of people each year gather around the towers to celebrate the Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival and the Watt Towers Day of the Drum Festival.
- Address: 1765 East 107th Street, Los Angeles, CA
- Hours: Fri, 11 AM – 3 PM; Sat 10:30 AM – 3 PM; Sun 12:30 PM –3 PM
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