The fabulous Watts Towers rank among the world’s greatest monuments of folk art. In 1921 Italian immigrant Simon Rodia set out ‘to make something big’ and then spent 33 years cobbling together this whimsical free-form sculpture from a motley assortment of found objects – from green 7-Up bottles to sea shells, and rocks to pottery.
You can admire it from beyond the fencing any time, but to get inside you must pay and take the tour. The adjacent Watts Towers Art Center sponsors workshops, performances and classes for the community, hosts art exhibits and organizes the acclaimed Watts Towers Day of the Drum and Jazz Festival in September.
