Quirky monuments that put cities on the map

Watts Towers (Los Angeles)
Italian immigrant Sam Rodia single-handedly built this masterpiece with only a window washer's belt and buckle for protection while scaling the sculpture. Rodia purchased the triangular lot in Los Angeles in 1921. He took 30 years to complete and adorn the seventeen towers with a mosaic of broken glass, sea shells, pottery and ceramics. The tallest tower reaches 99.5 feet, and is the longest slender reinforced concrete column in the world. Anyone who sees Rodia's life's work is astonished by his commitment to his vision

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