- Simon Rodia
.
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 inPennsylvania . 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. [http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2007/04/no-15-towers-of-simon-rodia.html Big Orange Landmarks] -- No. 15 - Towers of Simon Rodia.]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; 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.References
ee also
*
Watts Towers
*Watts, California
*Ferdinand Cheval
*Enoch Tanner Wickham External links
* [http://blurrylens.com/exteriordetail/index.html Photo documentary of Watts Towers at Blurrylens.com]
* [http://www.artjunction.org/watts.php Art Junction site on the Watts Towers]
* [http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/offthemap/html/travelogue_artist_6.htm?true PBS article]
*http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Simon_Rodia.html
* [http://www.wattstowers.us/simon_rodia.htm Watts Towers web site] -- photo of Simon Rodia.
*
* [http://www.victoriansecrets.net/watts.htm Rodia's Watts Towers - Photo documentary of the towers and the ruins of Rodia's house, with new biographical information.]
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