Keyword The Watts Towers

The story of Simon Rodia, the real-life artist who spent 30 years constructing Los Angeles' Watts Towers, a monument to Christopher Columbus, and his fictional relationship with Daniel, a young boy.

"I Build the Tower" is the true story of the life and work of Sam Rodia, the Italian immigrant who built the world-famous Watts Towers on a residential lot in South Central Los Angeles. These mosaic-covered spires of reinforced cement rising to almost one hundred feet were once scheduled for demolition by the City Building Department. The towers survived to become a symbol of the community in which they stand and they are now recognized throughout the world as a unique embodiment of the structural principles found in nature.