In Pursuit of an Impact: Local Outreach and Investment in the Context of the Watts Towers Conservation Project

Abstract

The Watts Towers, a US National Historic Landmark in Los Angeles, are a work of art created by Italian immigrant Sabato (also known as Simon) Rodia (1879-1965) between 1921 and 1954. Since 2011 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has worked to formulate a preservation and maintenance protocol for the Towers and has provided daily preservation maintenance. The Towers hold important value for Watts, a neighborhood that faces significant economic and social challenges. Responding to the project's context, LACMA pursued a local hiring policy and implemented a training program for local high school students. Challenges encountered in the development of an outreach program and ideas for future preservation-related outreach and local investment are discussed in this paper.