'It's been the right time for a long time': Behind Watts Towers' $22-million campus renovation

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Set us as preferred A 15-year campaign led by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to conserve Watts Towers has run out of budget at the same time that a $22-million renovation of the campus is poised to take flight.The situation highlights what community organizers and the site’s leadership say is a piecemeal approach to the protection and preservation of one of the city’s most important cultural landmarks.For decades, the city of Los Angeles and private foundations have invested in preserving the towers, the 102-year-old masterpiece of folk art built by Italian immigrant Sabato “Simon” Rodia.

But while the landmark itself underwent years of painstaking conservation, which was recently halted at 90% complete, the arts campus surrounding it evolved in fits and starts.Now, after 14 years of planning, an equally ambitious investment is being made to transform the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus (WTACC), which has served as an essential cultural and educational center for more than 50 years.The work will mark the first major upgrade of the WTACC since it opened in 1970, and leaders hope the transformation continues uninterrupted until it reaches the finish line.

Travel & Experiences The story behind Sabato Rodia’s obsession to create what remains one of L.A.’s most admired and least understood landmarks.The campus renovation is slated to break ground in October, with completion targeted before the 2028 Summer Olympics.The project is funded through a patchwork of public and private sources, including a $10.1 million investment from the Bezos Earth Fund, the climate philanthropy organization founded by Amazon Executive Chair Jeff Bezos.The redesign will reshape how visitors experience the campus.

More than 30,000 square feet of park space will be added along E.107th Street, while climate-resilient landscaping wil...