Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts records
name: label: Creator
content: Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts
label: Names
content: Simon Rodia Towers (Los Angeles, Calif.)
label: Names
content: Morgan, Jeanne S.
label: Names
content: Rodia, Simon, 1879-1965
place: label: Place
content: Watts (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Buildings, structures, etc
topic: label: Topic
content: Assemblage (Art)
label: Topic
content: Sculptors--California--Watts
label: Topic
content: Sculpture -- Conservation and restoration
label: Topic
content: Towers -- California -- Los Angeles
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Jeanne S. Morgan in 1997.
creator: label: Creator
content: Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts
setName: label: See more items in
content: Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts records measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1953-1989. The records include clippings, a transcript of the film The Towers, interview transcripts with the towers' creator Simon Rodia, materials related to the Watts Towers' false restoration, photographic material, and unpublished articles by Jeanne Morgan. The records were compiled by Jeanne S. Morgan, founding member, executive director, and chair (1978-1980) of the Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Simon Rodia (1879-1965), a native of Serena, Italy, created the unique sculptural assemblage of the Watts Towers in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Reaching over 100 feet each, the seventeen interconnected sculptural towers were assembled over a thirty-three year period (1921-1954). 
The Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts was founded in response to plans by the city of Los Angeles to have the towers destroyed. For sixteen years the committee raised money, designed an engineering test to disprove the city's contention that the towers were unsafe. The members also ran an art center that offered free classes to the community. In 1975 the committee assigned the towers and art center to the city of Los Angeles.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1953-1989
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.morgjean
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Transcripts
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Series 1: Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts Records, 1953-1989 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection received a preliminary level of processing after donation in 1997. The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared in 2018 by Ashley Boykins, supervised by Rayna Andrews, with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: This collection contains photocopies of photographs and artwork. The location of originals is unknown.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts records measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1953-1989. The records include clippings, a transcript of the film The Towers, interview transcripts with the towers' creator Simon Rodia, materials related to the Watts Towers' false restoration, photographic material, and unpublished articles by Jeanne Morgan. The records were compiled by Jeanne S. Morgan, founding member, executive director, and chair (1978-1980) of the Committee for the Simon Rodia Towers in Watts.