Good News for Watts

As you may have noticed, Departures has been talking about cultural preservation through the city's monuments - both "official" and "unofficial." The preservation of the Watts Towers was highlighted for us by a member of The City Project, Robert Garcia. (We interviewed Garcia for the Chinatown issue, and he wrote some guest blogs for KCET.org.) Recently, the story has taken another turn, as the L.A. Times reported that unresolved issues between LACMA and L.A.'s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) that were holding up preservation efforts have been resolved.

This past Friday, preservationists and tower enthusiasts gathered at UCLA to celebrate of the Towers and their creation. The event featured a talk with LACMA's Director of Preservation, Mark Gilberg, and senior scientist Frank D. Preusser. Their discussion appropriately titled "Preservation Impossible," addressed some of the challenges faced by DCA and LACMA. On Sunday, the event finished with a "Day in Watts" featuring guided tours, performances and presentations at the site.

For more information, visit http://www.wattstowerscommonground.org/