Comments on: Watts Towers’ California Color

By: Bud Goldstone

Bud Goldstone — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:19:33 +0000

We met a tile designer (in the 1970s) from “Taylor’s Tilery” in Los Angeles or Santa Monica (now gone) who told us Sam Rodia worked there in the 1930s. She showed us two of her tile designs! Bud Goldstone

By: Audrey Burtrum-Stanley

Audrey Burtrum-Stanley — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:04:37 +0000

I recall being told that children enjoyed being around this magical lil’ Italian gentleman. They would bring him broken dishes and bottles they found. There is even some speculation they might have purposely broken some of their Mother’s dishes as an excuse to take more pieces to the artist to add to his whimsy. I LOVE THESE TOWERS — only saw the place once but it was VERY memorable.

I am also grateful there is so much attention being shown towards the preservation of the place. Hopefully it will be allowed to grace the sky for decades into the future! Please, keep up the good work and the detiled study. It is greatly appreciated – even in far away Arkansas.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:07:35 +0000

I was looking for a museum experience for my upcoming birthday. The watts towers have been on my list to experience for 10 years….after doing some cursiory research I think I would enjoy the watts towers more if I knew more of the history first. So i went on amazon.com and bought the “I build the tower” dvd….and will wait to visit until I have viewed this to really get the most out of the experience.

By: Ana O.

Ana O. — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:41:20 +0000

I’ve never heard of the Watts towers, but it is definitely inspiring to see a man work with no modern tools, and dedicate everyday to the construction of his vision. So often I hear of sculptors simply having a large idea or concept for a sculpture and hiring fifty men to put it together. Here is a man who did this labor on his own, using his own two hands, out of sheer passion and vision. I love this concept, it is exquisitely and quietly inspiring.

By: Steven Keylon

Steven Keylon — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:40:23 +0000

That’s interesting, I saw that in the little museum at the Adamson House in Malibu. But these legends take on a life of their own.

By: maryam

maryam — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:19:31 +0000

i feel silly but i didn’t realize the connection between watts towers and california pottery. rad.

By: bud goldstone

bud goldstone — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:03:12 +0000

Thanks Steven- We wrote the definitive book on Watts Towers after many years study. Interviews with Malibu Tile experts who checked company employant records show that Rodia NEVER worked for Malibu Tile Company! They went with me on a careful search of the Rodia sculptures and only found ONE piece of a broken tile that came from the Malibu tile pottery! He probablu found it along the Red Car or Santa Fe tracks by his Watts home! We show the Malibu shard in our 1997 book published by Getty Museum, the Los Angeles Watts Towers. Actual manufacturers of Watts Towers pieces is shown in the book.

By: Steven Keylon

Steven Keylon — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:25:57 +0000

Simon Rodia also worked for the Malibu Potteries company, and apparently would come home with his pockets stuffed full of Malibu Tile fragments.