Watts Towers, Folk art monument in Watts, Los Angeles, US
Watts Towers is a group of seventeen structures made of steel rods and concrete that rise up to 99 feet (30 meters) into the sky, covered with glass fragments, ceramic pieces and shells. The towers stand close together on a narrow lot and are connected by arches and walls that form a single composition.
Rodia built the towers from 1921 to 1954, then suffered a stroke in summer 1954 and fell from a low tower. In 1955 he gave the property to a neighbor and moved to Martinez to live with his sister. His bungalow burned on 4 July 1956, and the city condemned the site; Nicholas King and William Cartwright bought it in 1959 for $2,000 and saved it from demolition.
Rodia named the site Nuestro Pueblo, Spanish for "our town". Children from the neighbourhood brought him broken pottery, and he set damaged tiles from Malibu Potteries and CALCO into the concrete. Green glass comes from 7 Up, Squirt, Bubble Up and Canada Dry bottles of the 1930s to 1950s, some still bearing their logos; the blue pieces are milk of magnesia bottles.
The towers stand in a small park that opens only for guided visits, while the adjacent arts center hosts exhibits and programs. Access is through a narrow street in the Watts neighborhood, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles.
During tests in 1959, engineers pulled on the tallest structure with a truck and steel cables applying 10,000 pounds (4,500 kilograms) of force. The towers did not move, but the cables snapped, and the city abandoned its demolition plan.
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