A Visit to the Watts Towers

The Watts Towers were built by Italian immigrant Sabato Rodia between 1921 and 1944. They are comprised of 17 interconnected structures, two of which reach heights of over 99 feet. Rodia, using a window washer's belt, built his towers entirely by hand, using crude tools and spare materials scavenged from local construction sites.

The towers are mainly constructed of steel strips and rods reinforced with hand-wrapped wire and concrete. Much of the steel was bent into shape using an improvised vise clamped to a nearby railroad track.

Rodia's neighbors used to come by with broken pottery shards and bottles of all sizes and colors, which were often incorporated into the work. The city of Los Angeles condemned the towers in the '50s, but when they tried to take them down with a crane, the crane broke and the towers held strong!

The towers were severely damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, but they have since been repaired, and are now incorporated into a cultural center. Rodia's towers themselves have been declared a historical monument, and are well worth visiting if you are ever in the area.

Regarding Los Angeles and local attractions found nearby...