The Watts Towers' perpetual state of crisis

Luisa Del Giudice, a scholar who's hosting an October UCLA conference on the Watts Towers, is quoted by my colleague, Hector Tobar, repeating an awful truth: "The towers are so fragile, we've been forced to save them over and over again."

The Watts Towers have been in a perpetual state of crisis for more than half a century. Sabato (sometimes called Simon or Sam) Rodia might have crafted one of the most powerful works of 20th-century American art, but its light is typically hidden under a bushel.

A major reason is that, to most people in Los Angeles, they're out of sight, out of mind. Here's a small example of the problem.

The last time I went there, about a month ago, I took a different route than usual to 107th Street. In the past I've always taken the 110 Freeway to Century Boulevard, then turned down Compton Avenue or Wilmington Avenue. This time I continued on the 110 to the 105 Freeway, taking MapQuest's advice and exiting on Wilmington. Even though I was looking, nowhere on the 105 did I notice signage that would tell me I was about 10 blocks away from an astounding national treasure. Maybe I missed it, but if it was there it wasn't prominent enough.

Rodia may have formally named his monumental structure "Nuestro Pueblo," but sometimes you'd never know that "our town" has anything to do with it. Ten blocks and light years away.

Tobar's column on the Watts Towers is here. The California State Parks website, with a map, is here.

-- Christopher Knight

Photo: Sabato Rodia's "Nuestro Pueblo" (Watts Towers), 1921-1954. Credit: Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times

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Comments

[Mike]

I choose "life" rather then going there. The last and only time I visited the sight, there were Black gangsters hanging out across the street. Its just badly located very close to some of the South Cental LA projects. Good luck to anyone visiting there.

[Saul]

Maybe we shoud move the towers to a better location

[Sam]

Dear "Mike | May 28, 2010 at 11:32 AM":

Oh my god, there were Black people there? You're lucky you made it out alive!

[Donald Frazell]

uh, considering i have been there four times lately, once with my wife who coming to California had stayed down the street at King/Drew while her sister was doing residency, and took pictures with a coworker and his family who lives three blocks away and buying a ome there, who had never visited inside before, check my blog, I think it is quite safe.

And gangbangers are not interested in you, and saw none anyway, just some older guys to the north who i talked with while mapping our the state park, and working class families in the homes to the south, You are doing what we call "racial profiling', and then artistes complain about Arizona, riiight.

There is plenty of parking for the few visitors for the tours, Many Europeans, especially Italians where Rodia is famous, who are used to different classes mingling without self absorbed fear. One must enter Nuestro Pueblo to feel their power, it is sacred in a profane profession, and so not felt with the eyes of mind, body, and soul, as true art does.

I have taken my young son there for the Day of the Drum Festival, the only prblem getting a ticket as i parked at the Blue Line lot at Del Amo, didnt even respect my older son being an Annapolis grad, picky suckers looking for traffic ticket monies. I went with my mother when his age in the 70s with my mother, a middle aged white woman in a far more racially tense time than now, and it was great. She being a true artist, and strong woman.

Our Town(Nuestro Pueblo) is an experience like no other, the greatest work of art in the Western US. Missing it is your loss. Join our drive to save it and the art centers, simply visiting and paying the $7 would save the centers, and begin to build a preservation fund, never seen more than 7 on a tour, can take 20, and double the visitation tours if needed. Did see a bus unloading of church folks as i left last time, thank God.

http://donaldfrazell.blogspot.com/

[Alan]

Ditto......me and a friend went there via the Blue Line about 5 years ago. NEVER again !

Walking to the tower from the train station, a car approached and 2 gang members wanted to know what we were doing in their neighborhood (us, 2 clueless white dudes).

Only later did it sink in how borderline dangerous that moment was.

[Doug]

They would be pretty cool relocated to the big grassy median along Santa Monica in Beverly Hills.

Set aside your knee jerk reaction and think about it. It would be cool.

[Michael]

Mike and Sam say it all. Mike said there were Black gangster there. Sam didn't see the word 'gangsters', just the word Black and played the race card. Mike should not have said they were Black because, if they're gangsters, does their race really matter? Nobody wants to talk about the real issues, just the ones that make them feel emotionally connected to a neighborhood we have all forgotten.

[Neil]

I have always wanted to go, but was just afraid of getting killed. They show the towers in the movie Colors...now that was pretty cool.

[Watts Resident]

Watts, residential neighborhood. Although this is a working class community, it is very impoverished. Watts also has an extremely high concentration of gangs. It is a very dangerous town, considering that at any time a gang-related incident can occur. Although gang shootings/murders/crime do not occur daily-they do occur very often.

However, as someone mentioned earlier, those gangsters are not interested in you, they are interested in their "enemies" or staying alive.

BTW: I live here because I was raised here, live with parents. Graduated with a B.A. Soc and working full-time at a non-profit. Obviously not enough to move out.

[Manny]

Damn. Black people hanging out is scary ain't it Mike (or any others who may agree with Mike)? Good luck to everyone out there who goes and visits! I sure hope you don't come across Mexicans hanging out either!

Wait though, how exactly did you know that they were gangsters? Lemme guess, they were in the "gangster" attire. Doo-rags and such right?

C'mon seriously stop being so ignid. It is isn't like that anymore you ain't gonna get shot fo' hangin' round here. Especially not by anyone in their gangsta' attire.

So please stop being afraid of under privileged places. Look around, hang out maybe you'll learn a bit from what you see. Beauty does not only exist in them privileged places.

[the dude abides]

We recently did a group bike ride from Silverlake to the Watts Towers. There was nothing to indicate the area around the towers is bad. There were kids playing and riding their bikes. It is sad that people judge a place without going there. Sure there are problems, but any community in Los Angeles has it good and bad areas.

[Donald Frazell]

WE have forgotten nothing, YOU seem to have, frozen in fear and recoiling from life. i know street life, and those i saw were all unemployed and blue collar residents, been there MANY times. The blue line is incredibly safe and taken by many from Long Beach to LA for work, and the station immediatedly across from the corner of Rodia State Park. Grow some. No one cares about YOU.

Art counts, and many from other countries come there with no fear knowing life across different classlines, you apparently have never experienced this, sheltered means spoiled, and so unable to understand and feel the greatness of Mr Rodia's achievement. Feel it with the eyes, and surround it with the creative environment to make it OUR cathedral of art. Which exists south of Wilshire far more than you can possibly ever comprehend.

When i finally got my wife to visit, she broke down in tears. it is the greaest work of art in the Western US, true art, as all artists are workers, from Michelangelo to George Braque, and feel the inspiration and power of this unique work, of mind, body and soul.

Art is for all humanity, and this OUR monument to God, and life.

[Manny]

To Alan

They were probably only asking because they noticed the face you were making as you looked at them from afar. I know I know, it's a shock to see such a place full of po' minorities.
I've lived in this area all my life and it's definitely not a place to fear unless you're doing something stupid like making ignorant comments.

[RKM]

Tear them down, why save everything? Doubtful people in Watts even want them. There's better things in LA on which to spend preservation dollars.

[JoeJoe]

Maybe some of the millionaire athletes who come from that neighborhood can pony up the money...that is if they have any money left after squandering it on bling and hookers.

[Nathan]

I took the Blue Line light rail recently to 103rd St. and walked a few minutes to the Towers. There's no wayfinding from the Blue Line either, causing me to walk a little out of the way in one direction (not a big deal). Nobody approached me, as far as I could tell, nobody showed the slightest interest in me. But some signs would help make visitors more of an expected thing.

[william wray]

Where is Eli Broad when you need him? He could drop a million bucks here couldn't he? As far as fear of the locals, I find fear is a self- fulfilling prophecy, humans or animals sense it and it is an invitation to attack or at least bully posture.
You have to feel like you belong and know were you are going and show friendly respect when necessary. It seems to me giving a few jobs to locals to keep up the towers is all that’s needed to upgrade and make the Towers more consumer friendly. If the locals have more to gain in the place being a tourist attraction, they will help.

[william wray]

And a big thank you to -- Christopher Knight for putting a little heat on this worthy subject.

[BT]

Where has the Getty been all these years since they started their major conservation project? I know that even the Getty is doing belt-tightening these days, but preserving (and publicizing) this local monument seems like a no-brainer project for them. They have funded restoration and conservation projects in Europe... are they so blinkered that they don't consider the Watts Towers significant art? (While they're at it, a little money and conservation expertise would go a long way toward restoring Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley, too.)

[katie]

I went to Watt's Towers for the first time a little over a month ago when my parent's were in town visiting and it was well worth it! The towers are truly a great work of art, and are very much something you need to see in person to truly appreciate. There is also the great treat of this little documentary they show you in the visitor's center- it was shot about two years before Rodia closed up shop on his project and it shows him working the towers, not to mention a great score by the same man who did the theme song to the Twilight Zone.

No, it is not in the best neighborhood, but I felt completely safe while there. My advice is simply to use common sense: go only during the day during tour hours, be conscious of what you bring with you- meaning wouldn't bring a big purse, flashy camera, expensive car, etc, and don't go wandering around the neighborhood. There is a train line you can take which is supposed to be very convenient but I didn't feel safe taking that so I didn't, I drove.

If you have ever wanted to go see the Tower's but were either too afraid or just hadn't gotten around to it yet you really should just make a point and go, you won't be sorry.