Watts Towers
The Watts Towers are an example of bizarre architecture in Los Angeles , California .
history
They were built by the Italian immigrant Sabato "Simon" Rodia (1879-1965) in his spare time in the eponymous district of Watts . He worked on it for 33 years, from 1921 to 1954. The towers are a collection of 17 structures made of scrap, trash and concrete and are 30 meters (99 feet) high at the highest point. The constructions were decorated with sculptures, majolica and small mosaics in the style of the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí .
On April 13, 1977, the Watts Towers of Simon Rodia were entered as a monument on the National Register of Historic Places . In December 1990, they were granted National Historic Landmark status.
The towers were damaged in the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and were repaired until 2001.
Cultural and media
The towers are the location of the showdown of the thriller Ricochet - The Impact and the blaxploitation horror film Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde . They also appear in the films Colors , Menace II Society , Wilder Westen inclusive and La La Land as well as in the Simpsons episodes Angry Dad - The Movie and The Chronicles of Equalia . The towers can also be seen in computer games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto V.
See also
- List of entries on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles
- "Don Justo's Cathedral" by Justo Gallego Martínez
literature
- Leon Whiteson: The Watts Towers . Mosaic Press, 1989, ISBN 0889623937 .
Web links
- Watts Towers. In: Structurae
- Watts Towers on einestages.de
- The Forgotten Monument of Los Angeles ( April 30, 2003 memento in the Internet Archive )
- History of the Towers (en.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 11, 2016
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: California. National Park Service , accessed August 3, 2019.
Coordinates: 33 ° 56 ′ 19.4 " N , 118 ° 14 ′ 27.8" W.