Simon Rodia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sabato "Simon" (or "Sam" to his friends) Rodia (1879 - 1965) was an Italian immigrant to the United States who spent much of his adulthood living in Los Angeles, California. In particular Rodia lived in the Watts district of Los Angeles where he constructed his most famous creation: the Watts Towers.
Rodia began working on the towers in 1921 and finished them in 1954. After finishing the towers, Rodia moved to Martinez, California where he lived until his death a decade later; it is generally accepted that he never saw his Towers again after leaving Watts. He moved due to disputes with his neighbors over the vandalization of the Towers.
Claims that Rodia's surname was "Rodella" or "Rodilla," or that his given name was "Sabatino," rather than Sabato, are generally given little credibility, and are likely the result of misspellings. There is some question of whether or not he was generally called "Simon" during his lifetime.
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