The Watts Towers are one of L.A.’s rare freestanding historical monuments. Built by the hands of an Italian immigrant named Simon Rodia between the years of 1921 and 1954, the spiraling castles are wrought of cement and steel rods and decorated with found materials like glass shards and porcelain. Rodia took what others considered to be trash and converted them to beautiful accents on his art project. Over the last half-century, the mortar cathedrals have come to embody the spirit and culture of Los Angeles, withstanding earthquakes, the Watts Riots, vandalism, and the city itself who tried to demolish it before the community stepped in.

There’s a cool little museum adjacent to the towers as well, but we were pretty unimpressed by the staff who seemed to be rehearsed in a lot of misinformation and factual errors regarding the Watts Towers. Oh well. Watt can you do.

by bobbyhundreds