Watts Towers, Los Angeles

Nuestro Pueblo or The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia

The Watts Towers, consisting of seventeen major sculptures constructed of structural steel and covered with mortar and embellished by the decorative finishings of mosaic tiles, glass, clay, shells and rock, are the work of one man - Simon Rodia born Sabato Rodia in Ribottoli, Italy in 1879.

Rodia wired rebars together then wrapped this joint with wire mesh and hand packed it with mortar and his mosaic surface. There is no welded inner armature and the tallest of the towers reaches a height of over 99 feet (30 m).

Simon Rodia came to Watts in 1921 at age 42 and was commonly known as "Sam". The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia, his masterpiece and the world’s largest single construction created by one individual, was his obsession for 33 years. He called it “Nuestro Pueblo” or “Our Town”.

Location:
1727 East 107th Street Los Angeles California 90002
The Watts Towers are located near the 103rd Street/Watts Towers Los Angeles Metro station of the Los Angeles County Metro Rail Blue Line, and off the I-105 Century Freeway.
They were designated a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark in 1990. They are also a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, and on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles.

Tours:
Public guided tours are conducted Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
There are no tours Monday through Wednesday, national holidays or rainy days.

For updated information please visit http://www.wattstowers.us