![]() | This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
![]() | The contents of the Simon Rodia page were merged into Watts Towers. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page. (January 2022) |
|
|
Look at the similarity between the Watts Tower and this radio tower which was built roughly at the same time. Accountable Government 00:50, 16 February 2006 (UTC)
The introduction should discuss whether the towers are artistic, architectural, utilitarian, etc. (What are they?)
An act of love from what I understand, a rumor in L.A. was that Rodia built them as a monument to his wife who had passed away, but I'm not sure if that is verifiable. I think some people have called this kind of work "naive" art but I'm uncertain if that applies, perhaps we need a new term for this kind of work. AnimalNorth ( talk) 09:23, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
I'm not sure why Simon Rodia would have called his towers by a Spanish name when he was Italian. At any rate, according to the L.A. City Web page at [1], the official name is Towers of Simon Rodia. Yours for accuracy, GeorgeLouis ( talk) 04:17, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
But,George, the facts are that Rodia lived in El Paso for some years and also was married to two women who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. It does not seem a stretch to believe that he was fluent in Spanish. Also, "Nuestro Pueblo" is inscribed in the towers' cement in at least two points, presumably by Rodia. I think your deletion is problematic. 98.218.140.177 ( talk) 00:35, 23 September 2009 (UTC)Peter http://www.victoriansecrets.net/watts.htm
Simon Rodia was inspired by the Gigli (sp?) Festival in Italy... a town near his hometown. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Reverdia ( talk • contribs) 04:25, 12 March 2010 (UTC)
I placed a mention of Edward James in the people and places section.
Although I don't have references in front of me Edward James, as
I recall from a documentary film about James, involved with the early
preservation of Watts Towers. Jame's later work in Mexico reflects
no shortage of inspiration from Rodia. I'm not sure though if James
should be mentioned in the body of the article, with out a reference
in print, or by someone who has seen the film recently and can link
the reference.
AnimalNorth (
talk)
09:28, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
2012
Just visited the Towers today (1-2-12) and on the plaques there is NO mention of the Northridge quake--it's the Sylmar quake that's mentioned twice! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.60.205.36 ( talk) 04:48, 3 January 2012 (UTC)
I have two sources that put Sam Rodia's date of birth as April 15, 1886. One is unofficial, not authoritative in any way, but very likely to be correct. I know a relative of his, who has an internally-generated (and private) family tree. The other source is about as authoritative as one can expect for an American record of a foreign birth. It is the official Social Security Death Index Transcription of Sam Rodia's death in July 1965. It includes his social security number and his birth date. People can and do say all kinds of things when asked about their age unofficially. But they tend to tell the truth when the question is undeniably official, pertains to when they become entitled to certain government benefits, and where dishonesty would have serious legal repercussions.
Sam Rodia's Social Security Death Index Transcription can be viewed online at the following URL (hosted by FindMyPast, where either a free membership account or Facebook credentials is required):
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=USBMD/SSDI/568036787
On the basis of that almost-authoritative information, I am changing the year of his birth in the article to 1886.
Coincidentally, it is his birthday today. Happy 136th birthday, old man. They may have done away with your very own Wikipedia page recently, but your home from 1955 onwards, the City of Martinez, CA, hasn't forgotten you, the Watts Towers, or that you're on the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper album cover. ChrisJBenson ( talk) 05:31, 15 April 2022 (UTC)