Watts Towers

Responding to years of criticism from conservationists that the city of Los Angeles has botched its efforts to preserve the historic Watts Towers, the California Department of Parks and Recreation will release a report today it hopes will reassure the public that the towers, although in need of conservation, are in no immediate danger of falling apart.

Jeff "Tain" Watts "Watts" Dark Key Music *** 1/2 It was more than a shared name that first got the attention of drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. Even as a kid growing up in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, he recognized something profound about a distant neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Tale of Watts Towers Re "Traveler in her own backyard," Opinion, Aug. 25 I have read a ton of articles about Watts Towers and Simon Rodia (I've even written one or two myself) but I've never seen one that so well captures the feel of the place from the point of view of a newcomer as Robin Rauzi's Op-Ed article. I worked at the center and heard that film so many times -- we used to laugh at how strange the music was. I could almost hear it in my sleep. Simon Rodia was full of so many passions, so many highs and lows, but he was a true artist and visionary, even if completely un-self-aware.

The Watts Towers may be a unique and symbolically rich work of folk art, but it is also a world-class money trap, vulnerable to earthquakes and the elements, and constantly in need of repair. There's been long-simmering discontent among some of the most intense admirers of Simon Rodia's 100-foot-tall structure who say the city doesn't spend nearly enough on its upkeep and criticize the quality of conservation work carried out by L.A.'s Department of Cultural Affairs. That criticism led to a two-hour state-of-the-towers meeting Thursday at City Hall, as two city commissions considered what has been done and what might be done to preserve them.

For the first time in two years, the tops of the Watts Towers, which had been boarded up for restoration, are visible. The scaffolding that surrounds the intricate, spindly structures was taken down over the last week, marking the halfway point in the reconstruction process, said conservation engineer Bud Goldstone. The project is expected to be completed in about two years, he said. The towers and surrounding walls were severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The redeveloped core of Watts has a sparkling new library, a glistening shopping center, hundreds of paint-barely-dry residences and a new youth center, complete with full-size basketball court. What it does not have is a restaurant. Of course, Watts has more than enough quick-serve hamburger joints and fried-food chain establishments, residents say.

Seeking to attract and retain businesses in Watts and around the Los Angeles Harbor, City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. has created an economic development corporation that will focus its efforts in those areas. The entity, formed early last month, is assembling a board of directors and community advisory panels in each community in the 15th District. The corporation will seek funding from grants to launch marketing campaigns to attract businesses to the area.

When Felix Madrigal came to inspect the house he planned to buy in Watts 14 years ago, he found himself impressed less by the new home than by what loomed across the street. Plastered with seashells and shards of green 7-Up bottles, the structures soared nearly 100 feet on spidery legs. "I was shocked to find I had lived in Los Angeles for 20 years and had never heard of the towers," he says.

Community Action Committee. It survived the rioters who stormed the gates and burned the committee's offices to the ground, looted and put the torch to the coin laundry, the toy store, the chili parlor, the food stamp center and youth center, and chased the group's founders down Central Avenue with guns drawn. Those were the riots of 1992.

A proposed redevelopment project intended to infuse new economic life into the Watts area will be considered at a public hearing today. The $37.2-million project, called the Watts Corridors Recovery Redevelopment Plan, would rebuild and refurbish some of the 18 buildings damaged during the 1992 riots and make other improvements on 245 acres of commercial and residential land over the next 30 years.