Watts Towers of Simon Rodia

Sabato Rodia was a tile setter who worked evenings and weekends on a triangular lot by the railroad for thirty-three years, from 1921 to 1954, using no scaffolding, no bolts, no rivets and no welds. He called it Nuestro Pueblo. The tallest spire stands ninety-nine and a half feet. Then he signed the property over and left. The city condemned the towers, and on October 10, 1959 a crane pulled sideways on one with ten thousand pounds of force before a crowd. The testing rig bent first.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mission San Gabriel Arcangel — 13 mi
  The fourth Alta California mission, built on Tongva land with Tongva labor, rebuilt after arson and now telling that story straight.
• Colorado Street Bridge — 15 mi
  Beaux-Arts concrete arches curving 150 feet above the Arroyo Seco, opened in 1913 and later a link in Route 66.
• Santa Monica Pier — 15 mi
  Where the Mother Road runs out of continent, and where the End of the Trail sign gives the drive somewhere to finish.

More markers nearby

• Heritage House — 3.3 mi
• La Mesa Battlefield — 4.6 mi
• Domínguez Ranchhouse — 5.1 mi
• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — 5.8 mi