Location Spotlight: Watts Towers
Italian-Inspired, Watts Rooted
Before the designations of National Historic Landmark, California Historical Landmark, and Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, the Watts Towers, or ‘Nuestro Pueblo’ as its creator called it, was a story of art transcending the margins it was created in. The Watts Towers’ origin story resonates with the community that houses it. Counted out and misunderstood, the Watts Towers encapsulate the displacement that many Watts residents experienced through generations of disenfranchisement and underdevelopment. The Towers have remained standing through waves of social upheaval as a testament to generations of community-led resistance.
Simon Rodia’s Vision: Art Outside the System
Sabato ‘Simon’ Rodia, an Italian immigrant laborer, poured 34 years of artistic labor, innovation, and audacity into the seventeen-piece collection we know as the Watts Tower. Beginning in 1921, Rodia began teaching himself art and architecture as he built the first piece of the Watts Towers, a ship sculpture, now referred to as the Ship of Marco Polo, in his backyard. Constructed with scrap metal and concrete, improvised tools and plans, Rodia fixated on building the monumental structure that contains the Ship of Marco Polo alongside a gazebo, fountain, towers, a fish pond, and other structures. The piece tells the story of his immigrant journey from Italy, laboring and loss throughout the US, and finding a space of possibility in Watts. Rodia’s journey represents the transplant journey that led many Black and Brown residents to build community in Watts in the 1920s-1960s. With sheer determination, Rodia became the man who constructed the largest structure ever made. After building a structure that left architects and artists bewildered, impressed, and in awe, Rodia literally walked away from his masterpiece, deeding the property to a neighbor.
Rodia’s artistry is as intriguing as his structure. He utilized his background as a cement finisher and tile maker to execute a creative vision, demonstrating his masterful use of color, curvature, and concrete, as well as innovative methods that inspire artists, engineers, and architects. Rodia’s humble origins also hint at his true gift in creating unique, innovative pieces from everyday materials. Rodia is the embodiment of the ‘outsider artist.’He built an architectural wonder from the margins of the elitist art world in one of Los Angeles’ most underserved communities.
Preservation Through Protest: Watts Steps Up
During the 34 years Rodia toiled to build his masterpiece, the City of Los Angeles ignored his work. When they finally acknowledged the structure, they called for it to be demolished in 1959. Although the city was slow to recognize the value of the Watts Towers, Rodia’s work was already cemented in the local artists, engineers, and residents who convened to save the structure that inspired them. Forming the Committee for Simon Rodia in Watts, they protested claims the city made that the structure was unsafe and called for a load-bearing test. They passed the test led by engineer Norman J. “Bud” Goldstone, who described the appeal of the structure as,
“Go anywhere in the world and look for a structure that’s built like the Watts Towers. “There is absolutely nothing like it. It is unique.”
Through generations, the Watts Towers have withstood manmade and environmental challenges. In 1965, the Watts Rebellion or Watts Riots engulfed the neighborhoods in flames that nearly reached the Towers. More civil unrest and property destruction erupted in Watts in response to police brutality during the 1992 L.A. Uprisings, yet the Watts Towers remained standing. They existed as a backdrop to Watt’s battles through economic disinvestment, increases in gang activity, and the War on Drugs, remaining unscathed as a testament to their significance to the community.
In many ways, the Towers resonate with the community because they, too, have remained resilient despite the city’s underinvestment in them. The Committee for Simon Rodia’s Towers preserved the structure without support for decades before the city took part in preserving the site. From its formation in 1961 after Rodia’s home burned down until 1975, the committee protected, preserved, and advocated for the structure. Helping the site gain official designations as a Cultural Heritage Monument, getting it listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Parks, and Landmarks.
A Living Monument: Culture, Youth, and Arts Education
In 1964, Watts Towers Art Center was formed to galvanize city-community support for the Towers and their potential to develop the Watts arts scene. The center uses the Towers as a focal point to bring arts and music programming to the community of Watts. They operate public tours of the Towers, lectures, and rotating exhibitions of other artists. The offer classes for all levels, taught by professional artists in a range of artistic styles.
Since Rodia turned over his creation to the community, the Towers have become part of Watts’ heritage, symbolizing both outsider artistry and calls for community redevelopment. Collectives have stepped up to not only preserve and acknowledge the structure but also utilize it as a source of not only tourism but also a meaningful focal point of local artistry.
The Paradoxes of Watts Tower
Although the Towers have gained international recognition in the art world, organizers continue to navigate efforts to preserve the structure, facing inconsistent city funding and infrastructure development.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has been investing in research-based assessment and the development of conservation methods to maintain the structure since 2011. As a city-funded venture, they’ve dealt with inconsistencies in staff and experts and struggle to secure local funding. They continually battle the perception of being outsiders disconnected from the local community of Watts. Their outreach expands to communicate the motivations and potential their restoration efforts hold for new economic opportunities for the community. Despite these challenges, they’ve created local training pipelines to cultivate new art and conservation talent.
Lesson From the Towers
Sometimes residents of Watts feel their community is an afterthought that exists in the imaginations of tourists and outsiders, reduced to stereotypes and misrepresentations. The Watts Towers became a landmark despite the city’s consistent neglect of the space and its cultural contribution. Its creator, artist-outsider Simon Rodia, overcame decades of mental, physical, and societal challenges to execute his artistic vision as an underresourced, working-class laborer.
The Watts Towers are a symbol of the ways his art connected to the experiences of his community. He entrusted his creation to the public, and they continue to utilize his space to express radical imagination in art, politics, and public memory. Watts is often publicly represented by symbols and moments that the community does not consent to. The Watts Tower is a structure they chose and continue to choose to represent their culture and community. The Towers embody the community’s agency in reclaiming their space and narrative in the face of systemic neglect. Its sustainability and the collectives that emerge to protect and improve it reflect the needs of Watts and the methods they can enable it to develop itself.
About the Author
Kathleen Anaza
Kathleen ‘Kat’ Anaza is a multi-genre storyteller, organizer, and entrepreneur whose works center on narratives and experiences of the Black Diaspora. She has been featured in Vogue Magazine, Lonely Planet, Viator, and more. Connect with her work at https://linktr.ee/Kat_Anaza.
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