![]() ![]() The discussions of the Building and Safety Commissioners survive in meeting transcripts and exhibits housed at the City Archives. The official purpose of the discussion, according to their memo issued to interested parties, “to show why the structures should not be ordered, repaired, or demolished” The supporting documents and photographs referred to the towers by letters A through E. Splicing on the base of Tower C, June 1959, courtesy of the Los Angeles City ArchivesĪ series of meetings of the Building and Safety Commissioners was convened. A condemnation order was issued in early 1957 by the city and was adjudicated a little over two years later – a process richly documented in the Los Angeles City Archives. That wasn’t the prevailing view in the 1950s. The value of the towers to the city of Los Angeles as art is relatively new. He sold the property to his neighbor and by 1959, it was owned by actor Nicholas King and a group of concerned citizens who were worried about the future of the property. for the Northern California town of Martinez, never to return. What we do know is that they were built between 19, when Rodia left L.A. The one-time telephone lineman and stone mason said, “I had it in my mind to do something big and did it” – so goes the quote or a version close to it. Rodia was asked many times why he chose to build objects out of salvaged steel, chicken wire, and cement encrusted with shells, bottle fragments, and stones. Simon Rodia himself called the complete project “Nuestro Pueblo,” meaning “Our Town.” ![]() The surrounding area has incubated and arts and cultural vibe that draws pride from the spires, towers, and mosaics. Today, the structures known as the Watts Towers are icons of the city of Los Angeles, known around the world. ![]()
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