Museum Steps in as Budget Cuts Threaten Watts Towers

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.

2 minute read

February 9, 2011, 10:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


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."

Tuesday, February 8, 2011 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo walking down city street.

Cuomo Is the Candidate of Both NIMBYs and Developers. What Gives?

In the New York City mayoral race, odd bedfellows align to preserve the housing status quo.

June 23, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Aerial view of downtown San Antonio, Texas at night with rotating Tower of the Americas in foreground.

San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion

The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.

15 seconds ago - Governing

Large building under construnction in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia at sunset.

Charlottesville Temporarily Has No Zoning Code

A judge ordered the Virginia city to throw out its newly revised zoning code, leaving permitting for new development in legal limbo.

1 hour ago - Charlottesville Tomorrow

Aerial view of new neifhborhood under construction with enpty lots in foreground.

In California Battle of Housing vs. Environment, Housing Just Won

A new state law significantly limits the power of CEQA, an environmental review law that served as a powerful tool for blocking new development.

July 2 - CALmatters