This past weekend I traveled to Watts Towers which is located in Watts. Watts is a community that hugs the outer edges of Los Angeles. Created by an Italian Immigrant named Simon Rodia, the Towers are an amazing work of art. Rodia worked more than 20+ years on the towers and used everything from plates, seashells, broken glass, old coffee mugs, wire and pretty much anything he could get his hands on. Its amazing that one man could do all of this. Did he have help?
After the tour was over, I was taken to the museum next door and shown a video. The video was made in 1954 and shows Simon working on the unfinished towers. he talks about how everyday he would come home from his job as a tile setter and work on the towers. he stated that” I would have hired someone to help me, but I didn’t have any money.” Rodia is among several untrained artists I have run across in my travels. All of these men have created amazing works of art using recycled materials Simon stated that” I wanted to do something big and I did.”
In one of the pictures above you can see an imprint of Simon’s tools. He used basic hand tools to craft the towers. No power tools or heavy machinery was ever used in his creation. Everyday after work, Simon would climb the towers with his tools and bucket of cement. When he finally finished them, he was so old, he ended up selling the place and moved in with relatives in Martinez, California. he died shortly thereafter. The towers sat abandoned for many years after his death until the city of Los Angeles decided to tear them down. Luckily a small group of visionary people worked to save them. Thanks to these people they are here to stay. The towers draw crowds from all over the world.
If you go:
Tours are 7 dollars and run everyday including Sunday. Be sure and watch the video at the end of the tour. There is a museum next door that is really neat, so be sure and check it out. If you have a few dollars to spare, feel free to donate.
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