The Watts Towers in Los Angeles were designed and built by Sabato Rodia, an Italian immigrant construction worker and tile mason, on his own residential property. He worked alone, with hand tools and no predetermined plan, from 1921 to 1954. The article calls the style outsider art and says the structure resembles the gigli towers of Nola, Italy.
The complex has 17 interconnected towers, structures and sculptural features, and the tallest tower is 99.5 feet (30.3 m). Steel rebar armatures carry a concrete mixture of Rodia's own making over wire mesh. The surfaces are set with porcelain, tile, glass, bottles, seashells and mirrors.
A condemnation order to demolish the towers was stopped by a 1959 engineering test and public opposition. The towers became a National Historic Landmark in 1990. LACMA began a restoration in 2017, and the site reopened in November 2022. The article gives no hours or admission.
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