Watts Towers Arts Center in Hollywood

Beautiful place, but not open

🌟𝕎𝔸𝕋𝕋𝕊 𝕋𝕆𝕎𝔼ℝ𝕊 🌟•••𝙻𝚘𝚜 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜,𝙲𝙰•••》Americas most famous piece of self-built architecture. Acollection of 17 interconnected structures, two of which reach heights of over 99 feet. The Towers were built by Italian immigrant construction worker Sabato (“Sam” or “Simon”Rodia in his spare time over a period of 33 years, from 1921 to 1954.Interesting towers but it was STILL CLOSED due to renovations. It is only open for special occasions

Rodia spent a good part of his life to combine metal, cement and thousands and thousands of shards to create this weird island of art in ship shape in South LA.Rodia built this "ship" complete with 17 masts, a church and a baptismal full body bath to channel his dream of going back to Italy (when he could have put his pay check towards a ticket instead of cement and rebarb. But art is hardly ever practical, I guess.)Sadly he got so tired of fighting with city officials over permits for this project that he walked away after 33 years and never came back. He never saw Italy again either, so on a personal level this is hardly a story with a happy end.The residence itself got destroyed by a fire cracker. (! I guess some laws are passed for good reasons. Illegal fireworks do potentially spark senseless destruction)The Pan African Peoples Arkestra who performed at the jazz festival to celebrate the 101th birthday of Nuestro Pueblo aka the Watts Towers were very powerful.

The Watts Towers are one of my favorite LA landmarks. The arts center will reopen next weekend with a drum festival on Saturday, 9/24/22, and a jazz festival on Sunday, 9/25/22. So cool! Come check out the towers anytime and be inspired to make art in your own neighborhood!

I have been visiting this exhibit for the past four years. It’s frustrating how long it’s taking them to restore it but I still live it. I love the sort of niche spot that it is, the history behind the installation, and the story, however, I honestly won’t be coming back again until 2030 because it’s frustrating to hope the restoration is done each year and just see fences every time.

So especial ❤️🤩 is handmade art and part of the neighborhood heart 💖 on every single detail of this tower art.

The history is great. Im glad the place is being preserved.

Cool piece of art but getting here was really sketch. I viewed it from the car as I didn’t feel safe getting out. I am no stranger to big cities or urban areas but From what I saw from the car, it wasn’t worth the risk to get out and get a closer look.

Amazing work of art! All recycled, The Watts Towers, Towers of Simon Rodia, or Nuestro Pueblo are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics within the site of the artists original residential property in Watts, Los Angeles.

Super weird art exhibit in Watts - really cool! Hard to park but def worth seeing!

Not typically the area of LA im frequenting, but this is a cool little spot right off the freeway, and has a good story outlined in the park.

Currently closed, and the tower is under restoration.

Under restoration but the amazing story of the tower is still available. Its amazing what one person can do alone.

My dad lived in south central in the 1930s and 1940s and saw the man building the towers as a kid ! My dad is now gone at 87 however he always talked about it. He lived in south central before there were any black people. He met my mom at Fremont high they were married for 65 years I am the oldest of his four sons we had no sisters.

Can’t explain with words, these towers are beautiful, the story of the towers is very interesting, will definitely recommend a tour.definitely will be back again, if you feel uninspired this place will bring back your spirit.

The Watts Towers are under renovation, so I wasnt able to go inside the art center. I hope that next time I come back that it will be open.

Technically closed for updates, but you can still go and see the sculptures, which are funky and cool! Amazing that one guy did all that.

Beautiful to behold...even in its current state of being closed for upkeep. I’ll check back again in the future on this oddball American achievement!

I loved all the detail and the creativity of the artist. He basically used whatever he could including broken bottles and seashells and other materials to create this beautiful site

My home town Watts, in the city of Los Angeles, California. When l was a little girl l watched this man pick trash of the streets an build these towers. From trash to treasures. Great memories. A must see "THE WATTS TOWERS ".

Sad that its closed but it look amazing. My daughter had to do a project on the watts tower.. we took her to see it.

Lived seeing this place. Very surreal and beautiful. Cant wait for the unveiling of the upgrades.

Didn’t get the chance to see the Watts Towers but drove by. Cute little block. Saw an episode of The Simpsons were homer went to go see them while they were out West. He wasn’t so impressed.

Wish the towers were not under construction. How long is it gonna take to complete? Art over the fence was interesting to say the least.

I grew up in South Central and Watts from the 1960s to the late 1970s. The Towers were always close by. I wasn’t old enough to know why the first Watts riots took place. But I remember that fires burned all around that part of Los Angeles in 1965 for five days.I am sure that my take on the Towers are different from a lot of the other reviews here because I spent so much in the area.For example, when Italian Born Simon Rodia was building the three towers his neighbors viewed him a nice but odd man. He could be seen walking around the neighborhood collecting what he called: “beautiful Junk.” Broken plates, broken coffee cups, smooth stones, sea shells, broken and ladies gave him broken plates and other crockery that he embedded in various places of the towers and some of the more than ten walls surrounding them.I guess that he drove to the Santa Monica beach which is 21 and a half miles away from his home in Watts.There are many photos taken of Rodia climbing up the towers adding more cement to the rebar (believe it or notthat was the main part of the structure over the cement.By the time that Watts became predominantly black and low income Rodia had done as much as his advancing age could do. A lot of the businesses had “downsized” or burned down and the area was all but forgotten.It seemed that strangers from other countries knew more about the towers than a lot of my neighbors did. I have had strangers pull up in rented cars asking me “where are the Watts towers?”The last time that I saw the towers or Nuestro Pueblo (our town in Spanishas Simon Rodia called it was in 1994. The first time that I visited the towers was in 1968 on a 30 minute walking field trip with my class at 112th street school.There are many ways to get there. By train, bus or car. Just look for the tallest tower. Any structure that 10 stories always stand out.By the way, Simon Rodia never really got as much recognition as he should have. People know more about hi s towers.Rodia was born in Serino, Italy near the town of Naples February 12, 1879. and died in Martinez, California which is near San Francisco, Ca

Watts towers is a must if you are a local or visitor.Currently its under construction so the tower has a tarp over it. There are a few views to see the hidden beauty...Thank you Watts!

Too bad it was closed for renovation! I hope to return soon and see this picturesque place open to the public. I went with my 15 year old son, touring the GTA points and Watts tower was a pleasant surprise!

Easy parking and safe area. Self guided tour was great. The main 2 towers were covered but you could still see the other 15 smaller towers.

A very good location for an event I volunteered for & alot of amazing history of the towers is a ailable for the public!

I was fortunate enough to get a private tour of the watts towers. In the calmness of a early winter morning, I really got a sense and appreciation for the energy, the time, passion and the drive of a man who was possessed by vision. Hopefully I get possessed by such a powerful vision too.

Its always a nice cultural and historical experience to share with children and adults. However, at this time the Towers are closed for renovation for a year, the museum is closed for the next 6 months. The garden is open, but it would be much better if more flora is added.They have some baby tortoises in a little pond an a adult tortoise roaming about. We only seen one adult.I suggest any one interested in going who plan on taking a tour check with facility management for more information on completion and reopening of the Towers and Museum. We always enjoy hanging out there and having a picnic lunch. Nice place to visit.

Very amazing how this was created! I liked how it has all that info on the outside of the gate. Never seen anything like it! Its just very difficult to get out of there if you drive in through the narrow street, you need to park somewhere else and walk to the site.

I visit maybe twice a year and enjoy music and beautiful art in the gallery. The Festival of the Drum and Jazz Festival held the next day usually the last week end in September are my two favorite reasons to visit. Come on down and enjoy!

Awesome structures. Very little, if anything, like them, anywhere in the world. You cant appreciate the detail of the work or the sheer size unless you see them in person. Ive never seen it "open" in the two times Ive been there, and Ive been the only person there both times and you can see it pretty well without a tour. Given how rough the surrounding neighborhood looks, I was okay with nobody else being around. Its not in a neighborhood a tourist would typically visit, but Ive never had any problems. I get hassled by criminals way more at gas stations around LAX.

Interesting tower design and history, but its closed for renovations for a while. Surrounding city feels very unsafe. Hard to find parking too. Only visit during the day.

State Certified National Park needs more recognition and less dismissiveness for all people in the hood

Very interesting story. Howard Marshall Jr, the story teller was very informative and entertaining. Really glad I stopped. The artwork in the museum was powerful

One of the best examples of monumental folk art in the country and a beautiful symbol of Watts community resilience.

Very interesting experience, but the tour guide said that they would be closed from Jan 1, 2018 until at least 2021. They were made completely by one man in the 20s-50s. You can still see them without a tour, but that made it much better.

I enjoyed the tour to Watts tower. I just wished we can stay a little longer to take photos and roam around freely

These towers are not only amazing to see, but also provide crucial history of Los Angeles! There is also a small museum.. All free!!

Really cool place to visit. Lots of interesting history and reminds us that "creative genius" doesnt alway act normally.

Absolutely beautiful! Must see Simon Rodias work in person. There is also a guide to offer tours every 30 minutes. He offered a lot of interesting details about the history of the land, art, and life of Simon Rodia. I took a group of 6 -8 graders and they were very engaged !

If there is one place to see that is the homage to one mansingular vision and execution of his vision, this is it. Simon Rhodian is simply an amazing and unassuming artist and artisan.

Teacher my granson little bit about Los Angeles handsome black history a little property people that are little less fortunate than others in different areas of Los Angeles

Essential viewing when visiting Los Angeles. Ive wanted to visit for over thirty years, since seeing fifties the documentary while studying art history. A brilliant creation by an idiosyncratic individual, Simon Rodia. Beautiful angles, shapes and colors. Our guide was local and very knowledgeable. The art center is an important locale in the community, providing free art and music lessons to children. The future of the towers is not certain. Make a point of visiting and doing anything you can to preserve this unique national treasure.

Inspiring, beautiful - Ive wanted to visit Watts Towers for years, I loved seeing them in the real.

Very amazing towers. What one man did. Our guide was very interesting and answered all our questions. Cool to see this kind of LA

So lovely I went back after about 8 years, still had its same wondrous affect. Make sure you go on the tour, thats the only way to actually get into the towers. The history is so interesting.

As seen in a few music videos and theres a very similar landmark in the video game "Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas".I got there by taking the metro from Long Beach and getting off at Watts. Then its a 5 to 10 minute walk to the Towers.I was a bit wary of walking through Watts/Compton but it was hassle free visit.Worth a look if youre in the area or passing through.