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{{Short description|Historic folk art site in Los Angeles, California}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                     = Watts Towers of Simon Rodia<br/>Simon Rodia State Historic Park
| nrhp_type                = nhl
| image                    = Watts-towers.jpg
| caption                  = ''Watts Towers''
| location                 = 1765 E. 107th Street, [[Los Angeles, California]] 90002
| coordinates              = {{coord|33|56|19.46|N|118|14|27.77|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin                 = United States Los Angeles Southern#USA Los Angeles Metropolitan Area#California#USA
| area                     =
| built                    = 1921–1954
| architect                = [[Sabato Rodia]]
| architecture             =
| designated_nrhp_type     = December 14, 1990<ref name = nhlsum>{{Cite web | title = Watts Towers | work = National Historic Landmark Quicklinks | publisher = [[National Park Service]] | url = http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1718&ResourceType=Site | access-date = March 20, 2012 | archive-date = April 1, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120401132225/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1718&ResourceType=Site | url-status = dead }}</ref>
| designated_other1        = California
| designated_other1_number = 993
| designated_other1_date   = August 17, 1990<ref name=ohp>{{Cite ohp|993|Watts Towers|July 27, 2013}}</ref>
| designated_other2        = Los Angeles
| designated_other2_date   = March 1, 1963<ref name="LAHCM_list">{{cite web |author=Department of City Planning |title=Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments |publisher=City of Los Angeles |url=http://www.preservation.lacity.org/monuments/ |access-date=June 15, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609160708/http://www.preservation.lacity.org/monuments |archive-date=2010-06-09 |df=mdy-all }}<!-- do not link to the PDF, it goes dead on every update --></ref>
| designated_other2_number = 15
| added                    = April 13, 1977<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a|dateform=mdy |refnum=77000297|name=Watts Towers of Simon Rodia}}</ref>
| refnum                   = 77000297
}}
The '''Watts Towers''', '''Towers of Simon Rodia''', or '''''Nuestro Pueblo'''''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zabrodski |first1=Sarah |title=An Object Called Art |url=https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/an-object-called-art/ |website=The Iris Art Stories |publisher=J. Paul Getty Trust |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> ("our town" in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]) are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics within the site of the artist's original residential property in [[Watts, Los Angeles]], California, United States. The entire site of towers, structures, sculptures, pavement, and walls were designed and built solely by Sabato ("Simon" or "Sam") Rodia (1879 or 1886 to 1965),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Record Transcription Social Security Death Index |url=https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=USBMD/SSDI/568036787 |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=Find My Past |archive-date=November 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121235247/https://auth.findmypast.com/login?state=hKFo2SBtWk53aERVa1VBdHpiRk5UbW1PRTQwaHB5Z19GSmQ4MaFupWxvZ2luo3RpZNkgQ3daaHhlN2Z2eVhLV1pVeUwwbEVsTlgxVFFkdlg2TVKjY2lk2SBQMzBwRTMyT3dIM2hXZkRKYjBGaGo3RTYycFJEVE13MA&client=P30pE32OwH3hWfDJb0Fhj7E62pRDTMw0&protocol=oauth2&scope=openid%20email%20profile%20offline_access&response_type=code&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.findmypast.com%2Fwhodis%2Fauth%2Fcomplete-login%2F&registrationRoute=6&experimentationTrackingKey=8e76891d-ca67-4c69-a42f-c58622111179&initialScreen=login&topLevelDomain=.com&mode=regular&displayUniversityWidget=false&response_mode=query&code_challenge=KU405STu39LOaqvL4yevCWRgVASW3Q2kcm2eIHUTNjA&code_challenge_method=S256&audience=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.findmypast.com%2Fapi |url-status=live }}</ref><!-- See the Date of Birth section on the talk page --> an Italian immigrant construction worker and tile mason, over a period of 33 years from 1921 to 1954. The tallest of the towers is {{convert|99.5|ft|m}}.<ref name="Whiteson">{{cite book |last1=Whiteson |first1=Leon |title=The Watts Towers of Los Angeles |year=1989 |publisher=Mosaic Press |location=London |isbn=0-88962-394-5 }}</ref> The work is an example of [[outsider art]] (or Art Brut)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shatkin |first1=Elina |title=Watts Towers: The Story of an LA Icon |url=https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/things-to-do/watts-towers-the-story-of-an-la-icon |publisher=Discover Los Angeles |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024901/https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/things-to-do/watts-towers-the-story-of-an-la-icon |url-status=live }}</ref> and Italian-American [[naïve art]].<ref name= nhlsum/><ref name="nrhpinv">{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/77000297_text|title=The Towers of Simon Rodia|last=Goldstone|first=Arloa Paquin|date=June 18, 1990|work=National Register of Historic Places Registration|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=November 21, 2023|archive-date=February 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213085631/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/77000297_text|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Watts Towers were designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] and a [[California Historical Landmark]] in 1990.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name=ohp/> They are also a [[Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument]], and one of nine [[folk art]] sites listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles|National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles]]. The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park encompasses the Watts Towers site.

==Simon Rodia==
Sabato ("Simon" or "Sam") Rodia (12 February, 1878 – July 17, 1965) was born and raised in [[Serino]], [[Italy]].<ref>[http://www.wattstowers.us/simon_rodia.htm About Sam Rodia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127224307/https://www.wattstowers.us/simon_rodia.htm |date=January 27, 2022 }} - The Watts Towers — official site</ref><ref>The [[Social Security Death Index]] uses 15 April 1886. Other reference works use 1873, 1875, and 1879.</ref> In 1895, aged seventeen, he emigrated to the United States with his brother.<ref>US Census 25 April 1910, Oakland, California, supervisors District 3, enumerators district 21, sheet 16</ref> Rodia lived in [[Pennsylvania]] until his brother died in a mining incident. He then moved to [[Seattle, Washington]], where he married Lucia Ucci in 1902. They soon moved to [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], where Rodia's three children were born. Following his divorce around 1909, he moved to [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] and worked in construction and other odd jobs before finally settling in [[Watts, Los Angeles|Watts]] in 1920.<ref name="bigorange">[http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2007/04/no-15-towers-of-simon-rodia.html Big Orange Landmarks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306003147/http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2007/04/no-15-towers-of-simon-rodia.html |date=March 6, 2008 }} -- No. 15 - Towers of Simon Rodia.</ref> Among the projects he is known, or claimed, to have worked on are the [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]] campus,<ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Nicholas |editor1-last=Del Giudice |editor1-first=Andrea |title=Sabato Rodia's Towers in Watts: Art, Migrations, Development |date=2014 |publisher=Fordham University Press |page=415 |chapter=Interview with S. Rodia, by Nicholas King, Martinez, California, September 1960}}</ref> the [[Eastern Star Home]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Segre |first1=Claudio |editor1-last=Del Giudice |editor1-first=Andrea |title=Sabato Rodia's Towers in Watts: Art, Migrations, Development |date=2014 |publisher=Fordham University Press |page=380 |chapter=Letter to the CSTRW re: Visit in Martinez, California, January 25, 1962}}</ref> and the [[Bullocks Wilshire]] building.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Landler |first1=Edward and Brad Byer |title=I Build the Tower |publisher=Bench Movies |date=2006 |location=Los Angeles |url=https://www.ibuildthetower.com}}</ref> Rodia began constructing the Watts Towers in 1921.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=The Watts Towers from Eyesore to Icon: Race and the Spaces of Outsider Art |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7wg8m196 |publisher=UC Berkeley |date=2018 |language=en |first=Emma Rose |last=Silverman}}</ref>

There has been some question as to what Rodia was called during his lifetime; some sources have cited that his birth name was "Sabatino" and it is disputed as to whether he was called "Simon" during his lifetime. It is widely known and accepted that he was referred to as "Sam" by close friends. He appears as Samuel Rodia (and still living in Oakland) in the 1910 U.S. Census, but by the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, he had already become Sam Rodia. His surname has also been misspelled as "Rodella" or "Rodilla".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rodia, Simon (1879-1965), artist|url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1701372|access-date=2022-01-27|website=American National Biography|year=2000|language=en|doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1701372|isbn=978-0-19-860669-7|last1=Smith|first1=Richard Cándida|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127222135/https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1701372|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Design and construction==
[[Image:Watts Towers Doorway 01.jpg|thumb|upright|Doorway detail]]
[[Image:Watts Towers mosaic detail.jpg|thumb|upright|Wall detail, with mosaic]]

The sculptures' armatures are constructed from [[steel]] [[rebar]] and Rodia's own concoction of a type of concrete, wrapped with wire mesh. The main supports are embedded with pieces of [[porcelain]], tile, and glass. They are decorated with [[found object]]s, including bottles, ceramic tiles, [[seashell]]s, figurines, [[mirror]]s, and other items. Rodia called the Towers "Nuestro Pueblo" ("our town" in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]). He built them with no special equipment or predetermined design, working alone with hand tools. Neighborhood children brought pieces of broken pottery to Rodia, and he also used damaged pieces from [[Malibu Potteries]] and CALCO ([[Pacific Clay|California Clay Products Company]]). Green glass includes recognizable soft drink bottles from the 1930s through the 1950s, some still bearing the former logos of [[7 Up]], [[Squirt (soft drink)|Squirt]], [[Bubble Up]], and [[Canada Dry]]; blue glass appears to be from [[milk of magnesia]] bottles.<ref name="pcad.lib.washington.edu">{{Cite web|title=PCAD - Watts Towers, Watts, Los Angeles, CA|url=http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/1575/|access-date=2020-06-10|website=pcad.lib.washington.edu|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203839/http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/1575/|url-status=live}}</ref> Their structural design and placement near the builder's home are strongly reminiscent of the ''gigli'' ("lilies") towers which feature in an annual festival to [[Paulinus of Nola|St. Paulinus]] in [[Nola]], Italy, with which he was probably familiar.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ceparano |first1=Felice |editor1-last=Del Giudice |editor1-first=Luisa |title=Sabato Rodia's Towers in Watts: Art, Migrations, Development |date=June 15, 2014 |publisher=Fordham University Press |chapter=The Gigli of Nola during Rodia's Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lyons |first1=Carolyn |title=Watts Towers: LA's weird masterpiece |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/aug/25/watts-tower-los-angeles-sculpture |access-date=17 January 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=August 25, 2011}}</ref>

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, California|Wilmington]]. Rodia often walked the right-of-way all the way to Wilmington in search of material, a distance of nearly {{convert|20|mi|km}}.

In the summer of 1954, Rodia suffered a mild stroke. Shortly after the stroke, he fell off a tower from a low height. In 1955, Rodia gave his property to a neighbor and left, reportedly tired of battling with the City of Los Angeles for permits, and because he understood the possible consequences of his aging and being alone. He also mentioned that the towers were frequently vandalized by neighbors.<ref name="bigorange"/><ref name="latimes">{{Cite news|date=July 19, 1965|title=From the Archives: Simon Rodia, 90, Builder of Famed Watts Towers, Dies in Martinez|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|type=Originally published in 1965 in printed newspaper form only. This digitized copy was created at an unspecified but much later date by the original publisher (the Los Angeles Times).|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-simon-rodia-19650719-story.html|access-date=November 8, 2020|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109150016/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-simon-rodia-19650719-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He moved to [[Martinez, California]], to be with his sister. He remained there for the next eleven years until his death in 1965.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Christopher |date=2021-12-24 |title=Watts Towers at 100: Junk turned into art still casts a spell |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2021-12-24/how-the-watts-towers-were-born-and-how-they-got-to-be-100 |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725162422/https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2021-12-24/how-the-watts-towers-were-born-and-how-they-got-to-be-100 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Preservation after Rodia==
Rodia's bungalow inside the enclosure burned down as a result of an accident on the [[Fourth of July]] 1956,<ref>{{cite web|last1=de Arend|first1=Lucien|title=The History of the Watts Towers|url=http://www.wattstowers.us/history.htm|website=Watts Towers by Sam Rodia|publisher=Cultural Affairs Dept. Watts Center|access-date=June 13, 2017|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211055628/https://www.wattstowers.us/history.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and the City of Los Angeles condemned the structure and ordered it all to be destroyed. Actor [[Nicholas King]] and film editor [[William Cartwright (film editor)|William Cartwright]] visited the site in 1959, and purchased the property from Rodia's neighbor for $2,000 in order to preserve it. The city's decision to pursue expediting the demolition was still in force. The towers had already become famous and there was opposition from around the world. King, Cartwright, architects, artists, enthusiasts, academics, and community activists formed the Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts. The committee negotiated with the city to allow for an engineering test to establish the safety of the structures and avoid their demolition.<ref name="pcad.lib.washington.edu"/>

Tests conducted on October 10, 1959, found that the towers were capable of withstanding lateral forces of up to {{Convert|10,000|lb}}.<ref name="goldstone">{{cite book |title=The Los Angeles Watts Towers |first1=Bud |last1=Goldstone |first2=Arloa Paquin |last2=Goldstone |year=1997 |publisher=[[Getty Conservation Institute]] |isbn=978-0892364916 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/losangeleswattst00gold }}</ref>

=== Conservation and damage ===
The Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers preserved the site independently until 1975 when, for the purpose of guardianship, they partnered with the City of Los Angeles and then with the [[California|State of California]] in 1978. The Towers are operated by the [[City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department]] and curated by the Watts Towers Arts Center/Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center, which grew out of the Youth Arts Classes originally established in the house structure.

In February 2011, the [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] received a grant from the [[James Irvine Foundation]] to scientifically assess and report on the condition of the Watts Towers, to continue to preserve the undisturbed structural integrity and composition of the aging works of art.<ref name="lacma">{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/watts-towers-lacma-preservation.html|title=LACMA gets $500,000 grant to fund its new role as Watts Towers conservator|last=Boehm|first=Mike|date=February 11, 2011|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=February 10, 2011|archive-date=February 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212163556/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/watts-towers-lacma-preservation.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Weather and moisture caused pieces of tile and glass to become loose on the towers, which are conserved for reattachment in the ongoing restoration work. The structures suffered little from the [[1994 Northridge earthquake]] in the region, with only a few pieces shaken loose. An extensive restoration project by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art began in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://unframed.lacma.org/2016/07/14/conservation-proceeds-watts-towers|title=Conservation Proceeds at Watts Towers|last=Nguyen|first=Arthur|date=July 14, 2016|website=LACMA|series=Un Framed|access-date=September 21, 2018|archive-date=September 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922101531/https://unframed.lacma.org/2016/07/14/conservation-proceeds-watts-towers|url-status=live}}</ref> The site re-opened in November 2022 when the work was finished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Niland |first=Josh |date=December 6, 2022 |title=Finally complete, the Watts Towers' restoration is a turning point for public art in Los Angeles |url=https://archinect.com/news/article/150332130/finally-complete-the-watts-towers-restoration-is-a-turning-point-for-public-art-in-los-angeles |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=Archinect |language=en |archive-date=June 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618000711/https://archinect.com/news/article/150332130/finally-complete-the-watts-towers-restoration-is-a-turning-point-for-public-art-in-los-angeles |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== California Historic Landmark marker ===
[[California Historic Landmark]] Marker on the site reads:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-993 |title=californiahistoricallandmarks.com 993, Watts Towers |access-date=August 29, 2019 |archive-date=August 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829043035/https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-993 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<blockquote>NO. 993 WATTS TOWERS OF SIMON RODIA – The Watts Towers are perhaps the nation's best known work of folk art sculpture. Using simple hand tools, cast off materials (glass, shell, pottery pieces and broken tile) Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 30 years building a tribute to his adopted country and a monument to the spirit of individuals who make their dreams tangible. Rodia's Towers inspired many to rally and preserve his work and protect it for the future.</blockquote>

== Special exhibits ==
The [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]] mounted a 1962 photographic exhibition, ''Simon Rodia’s Towers in Watts: A Photographic Exhibition'', which was the first museum exhibition on the art or Simon Rodia and the towers.<ref name="LACMA">{{cite web |title=Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts: A Photographic Exhibition by Seymour Rosen |url=https://www.lacma.org/simon-rodia%E2%80%99s-towers-watts-photographic-exhibition-seymour-rosen |publisher=Los Angeles County Museum of Art |access-date=17 October 2020 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516054621/https://www.lacma.org/simon-rodia%E2%80%99s-towers-watts-photographic-exhibition-seymour-rosen |url-status=live }}</ref>

Two artist interviews, [https://unframed.lacma.org/2012/03/12/watts-towers-qa-with-artist-dominique-moody/ "Watts Towers Q&A with Dominique Moody"] and [https://unframed.lacma.org/2012/02/13/qa-with-artist-alison-saar-about-her-connection-to-watts-towers/ "Q&A With Artist Alison Saar About Her Connection to Watts Towers,"] were produced in 2012 by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as part of its Exhibitions on View series.

== In popular culture ==
The [[Simon Rodia Continuation High School]] in Watts is named for Simon Rodia.

=== Literature ===
Jazz musician [[Charles Mingus]] mentioned Rodia's Towers in his 1971 autobiography ''[[Beneath the Underdog]]'', writing about his childhood fascination with Rodia and his work. There is also a reference to the work in [[Don DeLillo]]'s novel ''[[Underworld (DeLillo novel)|Underworld]]''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQmI0ckdbC0C&q=don+de+lillo+underworld+watts+towers&pg=PA118|title=The Cambridge Companion to Don DeLillo|last=Duvall|first=John N.|date=May 29, 2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139828086|via=Google Books|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=November 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121235209/https://books.google.com/books?id=xQmI0ckdbC0C&q=don+de+lillo+underworld+watts+towers&pg=PA118#v=snippet&q=don%20de%20lillo%20underworld%20watts%20towers&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

California-based poet [[Robert Duncan (poet)|Robert Duncan]] featured Rodia's Towers in his 1959 poem "Nel Mezzo del Cammin di Nostra Vita," as an example of democratic art that is free of church/state power structures.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YB1uaGBqI50C&q=robert+duncan+watts+towers&pg=PA66|title=Contextual Practice: Assemblage and the Erotic in Postwar Poetry and Art|last=Fredman|first=Stephen|date=August 12, 2018|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804763585|via=Google Books|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=November 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121235213/https://books.google.com/books?id=YB1uaGBqI50C&q=robert+duncan+watts+towers&pg=PA66#v=snippet&q=robert%20duncan%20watts%20towers&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

In her 1974 book, ''[[Eve's Hollywood]]'', [[Eve Babitz]] describes a visit to the towers.

In his book ''White Sands'', [[Geoff Dyer]] writes about his visit to the Watts Towers in the chapter "The Ballad of Jimmy Garrison".

The short story "With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole", by [[science fiction]] writer [[Harlan Ellison]], is directly inspired by the Watts Towers and dedicated to the memory of Sabotini Rodia. The story placed first in the 1986 [[Locus Award for Best Short Story]].<ref>{{cite web |title=ISFDB |url=https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ay.cgi?28+1986 |website=The Internet Speculative Fiction Database |access-date=10 May 2023 |archive-date=April 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417140101/https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ay.cgi?28+1986 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Film===
* The 1957 short documentary film ''The Towers'', by [[William Hale (director)|William Hale]], includes voice recordings of Rodia and footage of the artist at work.<ref name="goldstone" /> The film incorrectly refers to the artist as "Simon Rodilla". The film was preserved by the [[Academy Film Archive]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=Preserved Projects|url=https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=the+towers&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|website=Academy Film Archive|access-date=May 19, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308235810/https://www.oscars.org/academy-film-archive/preserved-projects?title=the+towers&filmmaker=&category=All&collection=All|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In the 1967 movie ''[[Good Times (film)|Good Times]]'', [[Sonny & Cher]] dance around in one of the towers.
* In the 1972 movie ''[[Melinda (film)|Melinda]]'' the title character is taken to see the towers.
* In the 1973 concert documentary ''[[Wattstax]]'' the towers are repeatedly featured from multiple vantages.
* The climax of the 1976 [[blaxploitation]] movie ''[[Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde]]'' takes place at the towers.
* The climax of the 1977 blaxploitation movie ''[[Abar, the First Black Superman]]'' takes place at the towers.
* The 1988 movie ''[[Colors (1988 film)|Colors]]'' ends with [[Sean Penn]] near the towers.
* The 1991 movie ''[[Ricochet (1991 film)|Ricochet]]'', starring [[Denzel Washington]], climaxes with Washington's character swinging on the towers.
* The 1993 movie ''[[CB4]]'' shows [[Chris Elliott]] recording a piece for his character's documentary in front of the towers.
* The 1993 movie ''[[Menace II Society]]'' shows the towers at the beginning of the 1993 introduction.
* The 2003 movie ''[[Bringing Down the House (film)|Bringing Down the House]]'' depicts the towers near the climax of the film where [[Queen Latifah]]'s character returns home to Watts while on the run.
* The 2006 documentary ''[[I Build the Tower]]'' focuses on Rodia, and his creative vision and skill in building the Towers. The 1987 docudrama ''[[Daniel and The Towers]]'' is about them also. ''The Towers of Simon Rodia'' is a 2008 documentary filmed in digital 3-D.<ref>''The Towers of Simon Rodia'' (2008), with the documentary short ''Watts Towers – Then & Now'' — available on a DVD (2-D or 3-D) from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art bookshop.</ref>
* The 2016 movie ''[[La La Land (film)|La La Land]]'' shows the film's main characters visiting the towers in a montage sequence.

===Television===
* The Watts Towers were highlighted in the 1973 [[BBC television]] series ''[[The Ascent of Man]]'', written and presented by [[Jacob Bronowski]], in the episode "The Grain in the Stone—tools, and the development of architecture and sculpture".
* The towers are featured in a film within Episode 1365 of [[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]], aired in 1974.
* The 1987 made-for-TV movie ''[[Daniel and the Towers]]'', starring [[Miguel Alamo]], tells the story of Simon Rodia and his relationship with fictional neighborhood troublemaker Daniel.
*The towers were the topic of the Season 13, Episode 1 of [[Reading Rainbow]] titled, "The Wonderful Towers of Watts."
* The towers were depicted on ''The Simpsons'' episode "[[Angry Dad: The Movie]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/the-simpsons-pays-tribute-to-watts-towers-in-south-la.html|title=The Simpsons' pays tribute to Watts Towers|last1=Ng|first1=David|date=February 21, 2011|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 1, 2015|archive-date=July 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705090504/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/the-simpsons-pays-tribute-to-watts-towers-in-south-la.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The towers appear and are discussed by student artists Claire Fisher and Russel Corwin in "Nobody Sleeps", a Season 3 episode of ''[[Six Feet Under (TV series)|Six Feet Under]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Art and the City Civic Imagination and Cultural Authority in Los Angeles |date=2009 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |page=137}}</ref>
* The towers appear and are discussed in 2017 Season 1, Episode 1 of the Amazon Originals production of the documentary film ''[[Long Strange Trip]]''.
* The towers feature heavily in Episode 16 "Burn, Baby, Burn" of the sci-fi series ''[[Dark Skies]]''. The episode is set during the [[Watts Riots]] of August 1965.
* ''Visiting... with [[Huell Howser]]'' Episode 109<ref>{{cite web |title=Watts Tour – Visiting (109) – Huell Howser Archives at Chapman University |date=November 8, 2017 |url=https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2017/11/08/watts-tour-visiting-109/ |access-date=May 4, 2021 |archive-date=May 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504001636/https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2017/11/08/watts-tour-visiting-109/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*The towers are featured in "Bitter Almonds", Season 1, Episode 4 of the Netflix series ''[[From Scratch (TV series)|From Scratch]]''.

===Music===
* A photograph of Simon Rodia is included on the cover of the [[Beatles]]' 1967 album ''[[List of images on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.
* The cover of the US edition of his album ''[[Harold in the Land of Jazz]]'' (1958) shows [[Harold Land]], playing a tenor saxophone while standing in front of the Watts Towers. 
* The cover of the US edition of his album ''[[Brown Rice (album)|Brown Rice]]'' (1975, released 1977) shows [[Don Cherry (trumpeter)|Don Cherry]], pocket trumpet in hand, standing in front of the Watts Towers. 
* The song "Good Time Boys", on the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]]' 1989 album, ''[[Mother's Milk (album)|Mother’s Milk]]'', references "…the mighty Watts Towers".
* The music video for the song, "Hate It Or Love It", from [[the Game (rapper)]]'s 2005 album, ''[[The Documentary(album)|The Documentary]]'', briefly features the Watts Towers.
* The song, "Come A Long Way" on the 1992 [[Michelle Shocked]] album, ''[[Arkansas Traveler (album)|Arkansas Traveler]]'', mentions "… All along the Watts Tower".

===Radio===
*In an August 2017 episode of [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[The Museum of Curiosity]]'', California-born textile artist [[Kaffe Fassett]] chose the Watts Towers as his hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0902v53|title=Episode 3 Series 11|website=The Museum of Curiosity|publisher=BBC Radio 4|access-date=August 11, 2017|archive-date=August 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811180039/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0902v53|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Video games===
* The 2004 game ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]],'' the city of Los Santos features the Watts Towers, but in this version named as Sculpture Park.
* The 2005 street racing game ''[[LA Rush]]'' features the Watts Towers.
* The 2008 street racing game ''[[Midnight Club: Los Angeles]]'' features the Watts Towers.
* The 2013 game ''[[Grand Theft Auto V]]'' similarly features the Watts Towers, but in this version named as Rancho Towers.
* The 2014 game ''[[Wasteland 2]]'' features the Watts Towers as part of the town of Rodia.

[[File:Watts Tower How.JPG|thumb|An explanation of how the Watts Towers are maintained]]

==Watts Towers Arts Center==
The '''Watts Towers Arts Center''' is an adjacent community arts center. The current facility opened in 1970. Before that, the Center operated under a canopy next to the Towers.<ref>[http://www.wattstowers.us Wattstowers.us: The Watts Towers Arts Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224015817/http://www.wattstowers.us/ |date=December 24, 2020 }}, and Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center.</ref> The center was built and staffed by the non-profit Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts. Changing displays of contemporary artworks are on exhibit, and tours of the Watts Towers are conducted by the center. The center's Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center holds art classes, primarily for youth and Special Needs adults from the local community and surrounding cities. Partnerships with CalArts and Sony Pictures provide media arts and piano classes. The Day of the Drum and Jazz Festival occurs annually on the last weekend of every September. It includes arts and craft booths and live music.

==Watts Towers Crescent Greenway==
Watts Towers Crescent Greenway is a 0.2 mile [[rail with trail]] bike–pedestrian path next to the Towers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Margolies |first=Jane |date=2003-08-15 |title=JOURNEYS; Cape Cod by Bike, A Family Trip |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/travel/journeys-cape-cod-by-bike-a-family-trip.html |access-date=2023-01-30 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130075208/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/travel/journeys-cape-cod-by-bike-a-family-trip.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the shortest open rail-trail in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Railroads |first=United States Congress House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g883DqOi9_AC&dq=%22Watts+Towers+Crescent+Greenway%22&pg=PA66 |title=Implementation of the Rails to Trails Act: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Railroads of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, July 10 and September 18, 1996 |date=1997 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-054208-4 |pages=66 |language=en |access-date=February 26, 2023 |archive-date=November 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121235209/https://books.google.com/books?id=g883DqOi9_AC&dq=%22Watts+Towers+Crescent+Greenway%22&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q=%22Watts%20Towers%20Crescent%20Greenway%22&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Los Angeles|NRHP}}
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in California]]
* [[List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles]]
* [[List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in South Los Angeles]]
* [[Philadelphia's Magic Gardens]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Watts Towers}}
*[http://www.wattstowers.org/ Watts Towers Arts Center]
*[http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=613 Simon Rodia State Historic Park website]
*[http://www.wattstowers.us/ About Simon Rodia and his Watts Towers]
*[http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Watts_Towers.html Watts Towers on Great Buildings]
*[https://archive.org/details/TowersTh1957 ''The Towers'' — 1957 documentary]
*[http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz0002qt1p Image of Watts Towers, surrounded by scaffolding, undergoes pressure testing as people watch in Los Angeles, California, 1959.] [[Los Angeles Times]] Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, [[Charles E. Young Research Library]], [[University of California, Los Angeles]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060917120554/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/offthemap/html/travelogue_artist_6.htm?true PBS article]
* Pernet, Bruno; Silverman, Emma R.; Scott, Paul Valentich (2019). "[https://jcms-journal.com/articles/10.5334/jcms.177 The Seashells of an Iconic Public Artwork: Diversity and Provenance of the Mollusks of the Watts Towers]". ''Journal of Conservation & Museum Studies'', Vol. 17 Issue 1; DOI: 10.5334/jcms.177

{{LAHMC}}
{{Protected areas of California|SP}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{South Los Angeles}}
{{United States topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1954 sculptures]]
[[Category:Art in Greater Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles]]<!---Watts Towers Art Center--->
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]
[[Category:California State Historic Parks]]
[[Category:History of Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Italian-American culture in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in California]]
[[Category:Open-air museums in California]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in Greater Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Parks in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Steel sculptures in California]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Towers completed in 1954]]
[[Category:Towers in California]]
[[Category:Visionary environments]]
[[Category:Watts, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:1954 establishments in California]]