Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park

Description:

• The Watts Towers consist of nine major sculptures and is perhaps the nations best known work of folk art sculpture. The towers range in height from 113 to over 100 feet. They were constructed from steel pipes and rods, wrapped with wire mesh, coated with mortar, and embedded with 70,000 pieces of porcelain, tile and glass. Using simple hand tools, cast off materials, (broken glass, sea shells, generic pottery and ceramic tile) Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 30 years (between 1921 and 1955) building a tribute to his adopted country and a monument to the spirit of individuals who make their dreams tangible. The Watts Tower is one of only nine works of folk art listed on the National Register of Historic Places.