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Because of belt-tightening in Los Angeles' municipal arts agency, visiting hours will be cut at the Watts Towers, one of the city's most distinctive landmarks.
Money is running out for tour guides who lead some 1,200 to 1,500 visitors a month through the site, said Leslie Thomas, assistant general manager of the city's Cultural Affairs Department. The unique, 99.5-foot-high fantasia of spires and sculptures was created single-handedly from 1921 to 1954 by Simon Rodia, an unschooled Italian immigrant. Thomas said Tuesday that as-yet-undetermined reductions in the tour schedule will take effect after May 29, when this fiscal year's allotment for guides will run out.
Thomas said the problem will worsen after July 1, when a new budget year kicks in...