Simon Rodia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sabato "Simon" (or "Sam" to his friends) Rodia (1879 – 16 July 1965) was an Italian immigrant to the United States who spent much of his adulthood living in Los Angeles, California. Rodia lived in the Watts district of Los Angeles where he constructed the famous Watts Towers.
Rodia was born in 1879 near the town of Naples, Italy before emigrating to the United States at the age of 15 and living with his brother in Pennsylvania. His brother died soon afterwards in a mining accident and Rodia moved to the west coast. He lived in Seattle, where he married and had three children, then Oakland, and then Long Beach. He settled in Watts in the early 1920s, where he began construction of the towers.[1]
Rodia began the towers in 1921 and finished them in 1954. After finishing the towers, Rodia moved to Martinez, California where he lived until his death in 1965[1]; it is generally believed that he never saw his towers again after leaving Watts. He moved due to disputes with his neighbors over vandalism 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.
A photograph of Simon Rodia is included on the cover of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released in 1967. Simon Rodia High School in Watts is named for him.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Big Orange Landmarks -- No. 15 - Towers of Simon Rodia.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Photo documentary of Watts Towers at Blurrylens.com
- Art Junction site on the Watts Towers
- PBS article
- http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Simon_Rodia.html
- Watts Towers web site -- photo of Simon Rodia.
- Simon Rodia at Find a Grave
- Rodia's Watts Towers - Photo documentary of the towers and the ruins of Rodia's house, with new biographical information.
