Looking for something new to do? A micro-adventure? Or perhaps you need some artistic inspiration? Head down to one of LA’s finest cultural gems, Watts Towers, for a visual treat. From the massive spiral towers resembling Sagrada Familia in Barcelona to the garden and adorable turtle pond out back, Watts Towers in South Los Angeles is a unique and fascinating outing with much to interest everyone in the family.
What is Watts Towers? It is a beautiful piece of folk art that is the result of one man’s imagination and his persistence of realizing his vision. Watts Towers, designed and built by Simon Rodia (an Italian immigrant), are a collection of 17 interconnected structures made out of rebar, glass bottles, seashells, concrete and broken ceramic tiles. Over a period of 33 years, Rodia designed and built this magnificent structure on his own without machine equipment, scaffolding or drawing board designs. One day, Rodia handed over the deed to his property and walked away, leaving all of his work behind. Neighbors fought the city to save it from being demolished. After 16 years of taking care of it themselves, the neighborhood group donated the towers and art center to the City of Los Angeles.
As you approach from afar with the towers looming over head, you might think they are made of steel, but as you get closer you see that it’s actually concrete colorfully decorated with mosaic tile. The tallest of the towers reaches just over 99 feet (30 m) high. Once inside the gated compound, you will see a beautiful boat, a gazebo with a circular bench, several bird baths and more, all intricately decorated with tiles, sea shells and even hand drawn designs.
“I had it in my mind to do something big, and I did it.”
Simon Rodia
Visitors may peer through the surrounding gates at any time, however the only way to see the inside areas of the monument is through a guided tour. Tours can be purchased at the adjacent Watts Towers Art Center. The tour is short with guides who are well versed on the history of the Towers. On the tour, you will also get a glimpse of the process of restoring and preserving parts of the structure that are disintegrating due to weather. The Towers are surrounded by a lovely park, with a small set of stair seats behind so you can hang out and take it all in. Bring a picnic and some art supplies for little artists to sketch out their experiences here.
While waiting for your tour, take some time to check out the Watts Towers Arts Center, which has a small gallery of modern pieces as well as a delightful 10 minute documentary on Simon Rodia and his work on the Towers. Be aware, some of the art work displayed are very powerful presentations reflecting recent and ongoing responses to police murders of unarmed black citizens. Nothing graphic, however, it could spur on conversations about police brutality, riots and civil rights. If these are areas you are not quite ready to discuss with your child, you might give the gallery a pass.
Finishing up with the Art Center and Towers, take a stroll to the back of the building to visit the Garden Studio with a turtle pond and two newly donated African land tortoises cruising around. Inside the Garden Studio, you will witness busy artists cutting up materials and creating designs for new mosaics around the center. The volunteers here are lovely and will answer any questions you have.
Don’t forget to check out the houses across the street from the Art Center and Towers. With assistance from the Arts Center artists are creating colorful mosaics on the bungalows across the street. With time and funding they will be so cool! The few houses completed have beautiful mosaics that tie them into the Towers beautifully. There is also a pretty cool looking black and white house on the end that is worth a peek.
A visit to the Towers can provide great inspiration for your little ones to create their own recycled material art projects. If you need supplies, head over to nearby Trash for Teaching (on Wednesday, Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon) for recycled materials to start your masterpiece. On Sunday afternoons stick around the warehouse to create your projects in-studio for a minimal donation. Otherwise, head home and check out your recycle bin, discarded goods, as well as rock and shell collections to see what you can create!
[box style=”rounded”]Mark your Calendars: A yearly family celebration at Watts occurs on the last weekend of September, with an international Drum Festival on Saturday and Jazz Festival on Sunday. The event is open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm each day. There is live music, dancing, ethnic food and a multitude of crafts to keep the kids happily engaged. The festival and parking are free of charge. For more information, visit Watts Towers website.[/box]
Details
Address: 1727 East 107th Street, Los Angeles
Phone: 213-847-4646
Gallery Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 10-4pm, closed Monday and Tuesday and all holidays
Tours: Every half hour Thursday to Saturday 10:30 – 3:00pm, Sunday 12:30 – 3:00pm
Price: $7 adults, 13-17 yr old $3, 12 and under free
Parking: Free street parking or park in the lot behind the building.
What to Bring: Hat, sunscreen, artist materials and picnic lunch
Is it dangerous?: This is a top question potential visitors ask. No, it is not dangerous to visit Watts Towers. If you read reviews, you will probably be nervous about visiting because it is somewhat close to gang central. However, the actual neighborhood of Watts is not gang territory. Watts is also known as the neighborhood where one of the worst race riots in the US took place almost 50 years ago. Today, the neighborhood feels like it is on the up swing with well manicured lawns and quiet residential streets. You won’t find random people loitering around, just hard working families looking to make it through each day. So don’t worry, you won’t find yourself on the front lines of a gang war.
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So happy to be reminded about this cool place. It takes a special trip to get there as it’s not that close to other Los Angeles destinations but it’s so worthwhile. I’ll try to get to the September weekend event.
We will also try to go for the sept festival!
Those towers are pretty cool. I’ll have to check them out sometime.
If you are in LA definitely put it on your list!
The Watts Towers remind me so much of Parc Guell in Barcelona.
Yes Parc Guell!! It’s very interesting because no one knows if he was even aware of Gaudi’s work in Barcelona at the time of this. It’s so great that the neighborhood worked to lee this amazing work once he left.
The designer of the park has truly taken his inspiration from Barcelona, not only the Sagrada Familia but also Gaudi Park. Both visually amazing places. Wish it was closer for us to visit.
It did very much feel like Gaudi’s work! They literature at the small museum stated they didn’t know if he ever knew of Gaudi’s work having never visited Barcelona. And of course when he was working in this it was well before so much modern technology! Historians believed he might have been influenced by a local festival in a village of Italy where he spent his first few years of life.
This looks right up my alley. I’d love to visit, especially the Trash for Teaching. So fun!
I had no idea this was in LA! And at first glance I totally thought it resembled Sagrada Familia too! Such a fabulous attraction. I’ll be adding it to our list for the next time we visit L.A. Thanks for putting our mind at ease re the neighbourhood – some parts of LA you just don’t want to even try to venture through, so I’m glad that you mentioned that for us to keep in mind when reading the reviews 🙂
Thanks!
Look at all those colors. I can definitely see the Spanish influence in the towers. Marked this for next tie I am in LA
That’s some serious perseverance to spend 33 years making that structure without machinery. It’s pretty impressive, and also a little bizarre.
Haha! Yes it is a bit bizarre! I could not imagine doing that. And then he just stopped one day and have the deed to his house to his neighbors and left!!
This place looks really cool! Looks like a great alternative place to visit in Los Angeles.
what a unique place! I’m glad the locals fought to keep it! its the off-the-beaten-path things that really make for cool experiences!
I went to college and grad school in LA and have never visited Watts Towers. I knew it was there but yes, we never ventured there because of the neighborhood and its reputation. This is great to know what it is safe to visit and they’re working hard to revitalize the area. It looks pretty neat and had no idea it was concrete. I’d like to visit one of these days. Glad you enjoyed your visit.
I was just here! My cousin came to visit and we did a little exploring! It’s amazing that he built these towers with no formal educational or things like scaffolding or cranes.
Great post, I still can’t believe I haven’t been yet! I’ve pinned it because I definitely need to make that happen!
Definitely make it there before you leave! It’s worth the effort!
I recently visited the Segrata De Familia, but it was much more finished than the one you posted. The intricate detail was nothing less than what a swiss machine could do and I wish I could’ve had my kids there to witness it (10 year anniversary). We obviously need to expose our children and return. I’ll pass on the information to my husband to inspire their creativity. Thanks for the information!
Even though this looks so similar to the Sagrada De Familia, it’s a one man job done in Los Angeles. If you are ever in the area, you should definitely check it out!
Those are concrete? They look like metals. Very artistic!