Watts Towers

If you've been following along with my blog and Instagram, you'll know that I am a big fan of street art, public art, and urban art. When I heard the the world's largest single piece of art constructed by one individual was located in South Central, I knew I had to take the trip down there. It took one man, Italian immigrant Sabato Rodia, 33 years total to built and he constructed the towers without any machinery or power towels. He built the towers from the ground up in steel covered with mortar, and then decorated the towers with mosaic tiles, glass, clay, shells, bottles, and rocks. 

According to the Watts Tower website, "The tallest tower (third from left) is 30 meters high. The tower to the left of it is 29.5 and the next one 16.76 meters high. The highest tower contains the longest slender reinforced concrete column in the world. The monument also features a gazebo with a center column and a spire reaching a height of 38 feet. Rodia's "ship of Marco Polo" has a spire of 28 feet, and the 140-foot long "south wall" is decorated extensively with tiles, sea shells, pottery, glass and hand-drawn designs."

My mom is a lover of art, so the two of us went on a thirty minute tour, where we were able to go inside of the gated area and see the towers up close. If you decide to make the trip down here, I'd definitely recommend going at a time where a tour takes place so that you can hear more about the history, Sabato's inspiration for creating the towers, and examine the details of the towers up close, rather than from afar. Tours are $7 total. Our guide was super friendly and extremely knowledgeable - he was able to answer any and all questions we had.

If you're a fan of public and urban art, I'd definitely recommend adding this hidden gem attraction to your LA Bucket List! The Watts Towers and Art Center is located at 1727 East 107th Street, Los Angeles California SA 90002. There's plenty of free street parking, and you can click here for more details on tour times and directions.

Click to read more about the history of Watts and West Adams neighborhoods, the LA riots, and more.