Interesting piece of Los Angeles history and architecture. Built over a period of 33 years from 1921 to 1954, by Italian immigrant Simon Rodia who single handly built the structure (Also his home.) with simple tile-setter's tools and a window washer's belt and buckle.
Rodia's home includes three tall sendor towers; a patio; a gazebo containing a circular bench, 3 bird baths, and a spire 38 feet tall; and a structure he called the "Ship of Marco Polo" which has a 28-foot tall spire. All of this is enclosed in walls build by Rodia.1 He also decorated his masterpiece with bits of bottles, sea shells, bricks, tile, etc.
Today, the grounds of Rodia's former, fire-scarred home are open to the public and are on the California historical register.
Simon Rodia (Watts) Towers
1765 East 107th Street
Los Angeles, California 90002
Sources
http://www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/watts/tower.html