As the city of Los Angeles's budget faces deep cuts, money to pay for the upkeep of the city's iconic Watts Towers folk art installation has dried up. But a museum is stepping in to try to keep the Towers alive.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has taken over the operation of the Watts Towers -- and of marketing the art installation to Angelenos.
"Amid increased concern about the towers' fate, the City of Los Angeles, which operates the installation, last month contracted the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to restore and maintain it; the three city workers in charge of taking care of the site were lost to budget cuts. The museum is turning to its donor network to raise money for the project - preliminary estimates put the initial restoration at $5 million - and not incidentally, to promote the installation to arts patrons in Los Angeles itself.
'The towers need care,' said Michael Govan, the museum's director. 'They are one of the most extraordinary works of art in the nation. I send everybody to see it; it is so compelling.'
But for the museum, promoting the towers might be as daunting as keeping them in shape. Mr. Janisse's tour group the other day consisted of five paying tourists, two of them from Italy. Officials said a majority of the 45,000 people who visit each year are from overseas. The Watts Towers may hold the twin distinctions of being perhaps the finest example of indigenous Los Angeles art and the least known, or least visited, by people who live in the region."
Read the full story: Budget Cuts Threaten a Hidden Treasure in Watts
A New Cultural Landmark: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Set to Open in 2026
Transforming a former parking lot into a dynamic cultural hub, this new museum will feature expansive gallery spaces, theaters, educational areas, and lush green landscapes while prioritizing community engagement, local hiring, and inclusive design.
Artists Find Alternate Uses for Billboards in Los Angeles
With a surplus of unsold billboard spaces dotting Los Angeles, artists are using the empty spaces as canvasses for new forms of public art.
Lucas Museum Finally Finds a Home—in Los Angeles
This story has had more twists than the end of Empire Strikes Back, but it seems like it finally might end in Los Angeles.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic place names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority