The Watts Towers, located in south-central Los Angeles, are the monumental work of one man: Simon Rodia. Born in Ribottoli, Italy c. 1879, Rodia immigrated to the U.S. when he was about fifteen. In 1921, he purchased a triangular-shaped lot at the end of a dead-end L.A. street and over the next thirty years he worked single-handedly--without machine equipment, scaffolding, bolts, rivets, welds, or drawing-board designs--to build the nine sculptures that constitute the Watts Towers.
This book recounts the story of Rodia and his creation, as well as the considerable history of the Watts area itself. Other chapters discuss Rodia's building techniques and materials, as well as the conservation efforts underway at the site. Visitors to the Towers and the armchair traveler alike will enjoy this in-depth look at Rodia and his singular creation.
- ISBN10 0892364912
- ISBN13 9780892364916
- Publish Date 4 December 1997
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Getty Trust Publications
- Imprint Getty Publications
- Format Paperback
- Pages 120
- Language English