The Watts Towers are one of LA’s most famous landmarks. The sculptures were handmade by an Italian immigrant, Simon Rodia, from 1921 until 1954. After Simon Rodia left in 1955,…
The Watts Towers are one of LA’s most famous landmarks. The sculptures were handmade by an Italian immigrant, Simon Rodia, from 1921 until 1954. After Simon Rodia left in 1955, the towers changed hands several times and since then, reports KCRW producer Avishay Artsy, have since had several “close calls.” The Northridge earthquake in 1994 and a major hailstorm in 2002 led to significant repairs. Then, in 2011, the LA County Museum of Art, under the leadership of senior scientist Frank Preusser, was brought in to look at long-term fixes to the cracks that plague the towers. Research now being done by LACMA and UCLA is expected to be finished early next year, and in the months ahead they will monitor the towers for the slightest changes, for a sign of how they will hold up decades from now. Hear Avishay Artsy’s report on the ongoing process.