In 1921, Italian immigrant Simon Rodia began hand-building Los Angeles’s Watts Towers from steel, mortar and broken tile; 33 years later the construction had ended

A small triangular lot in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood was purchased by Simon Rodia in 1921, who began building what would become the Watts Towers. He worked on the site for 33 years and used steel, wire mesh and mortar, then embedded pieces of glass, tile, pottery, shells and other objects into the surfaces. The National Park Service describes the site as containing three principal towers, six smaller towers and other sculptures, walls and decorative features. The tallest tower rises 99½ feet, despite having a foundation only 14 inches deep.

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