Biography
The Towers built in the Watts area of Los Angeles, nine major sculptures of structural steel covered with mortar, are the work of one person, Simon Rodia; born Sabato Rodia in Rivatoli, Italy in 1879, his family immigrated to the U.S. in the 1890s and settled in Pennsylvania, and Rodia found work in rock quarries and as a tile setter after moving to the West Coast; purchased property in 1921 and by himself began building what he called Nuestro Pueblo, without the use of machine equipment or scaffolding; in 1954 Rodia deeded his property to a neighbor, and after the Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety ordered the structure demolished, The Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts collected signatures and money, devising an engineering test that proved the Towers' safety in 1959; in 1975 the Committee gave the Towers to the city, and in 1978 they were deeded to the state, which undertook restoration work; in 1985 restoration responsibilities were given to the Los Angeles City Cultural Affairs Department; the Towers are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and are the location of cultural programs.
From the guide to the Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts Records, 1954, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)
