Watt Towers: Los Angeles
In the middle of a residential area in central Los Angeles stands a unique city monument erected by Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant, completed in 1954. The structure, comprised of 17 interconnected sculptures made entirely by hand using found objects including bottles, ceramic tiles, sea shells, figurines, mirrors, and more, took 33 years to build.
Rodia called the Towers 'Nuestro Pueblo' (which means 'our town' in Spanish). Neighborhood children brought pieces of broken pottery to Rodia, and he also used damaged pieces from the Malibu Pottery and CALCO (California Clay Products Company). Green glass includes recognizable soft drink bottles from the 1930s through 1950s, some still bearing the former logos of 7 Up, Squirt, Bubble Up, and Canada Dry; blue glass appears to be from milk of magnesia bottles.
Rodia bent much of the Towers' framework from scrap rebar, using nearby railroad tracks as a makeshift vise. Other items came from alongside the Pacific Electric Railway right of way between Watts and Wilmington.
In 1955, Rodia 'quit claimed' his property to a neighbor and left, reportedly tired of battling with the City of Los Angeles for permits. He moved to Martinez, California to be with his sister and never returned. He died ten years later.
Actor Nicholas King and a film editor William Cartwright visited the site in 1959, and purchased the property from that neighbor for $2,000 in order to preserve it.
The Watts Towers or "Nuestro Pueblo" are considered one of Southern California's most culturally significant public artworks. They are one of nine folk art sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places and were designated a National & California Historic Landmark in 1990.
