LOS ANGELES—A celebration this Saturday at the Watts Towers will mark the rescue 50 years ago of the 100-foot-tall folk art masterwork built by an Italian immigrant construction worker. 

The ceremonies will include a panel on the events of 1959, when city officials wanted to tear down the triple-spired sculptures, which are made of steel and wire and adorned with colorful pieces of glass, pottery, tile, and seashells. Now a National Historic Landmark, the towers were considered by the city a safety hazard in danger of collapsing in gale-force winds. At the time, a citizens’ coalition was formed to save the towers, and it convinced the city to subject them to a “stress test” in which they would be subjected to 10,000 pounds of force. Had the towers failed the test, they would have been torn down, but they ended up budging less than an inch.

Saturday’s ceremonies will also include a panel of artists who’ve found inspiration in the towers and are part of a current exhibition, “The Watts Towers: 50 Years of Inspiring Art,” at the galleries of the neighboring Watts Towers Arts Center and Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center. Also in connection with the anniversary is a day-long festival of Towers-inspired films, set for Nov. 7 at the Mayme Clayton Library and Museum in Culver City.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.