A skateboard park - endorsed by living legend Tony Hawk - has been proposed near the Watts Tower, an icon that represents the artistic roots of this diverse area.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Casey Wasserman, a major donor to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are pushing for the project, though no formal plan has been submitted, according to Mike Boehm of the Los Angeles Times. Fundraising is already underway

The towers would be located about 40 yards away on a dead-end stretch of East 107th Street.

Some neighborhoodies worry about noise, said Luisa Del Giudice, who helped organize an international conference last spring in Genoa, Italy, about the towers and their creator, Sabato (Simon) Rodia. Between 1921 and 1954, the Italian immigrant single-handedly built the idiosyncratic, colorful and elaborately ornamented structures.

Why wasn't the conference in Watts? And why is there even a question that this would benefit the community, the youth and the future of South Los Angeles? Opponents lined right up - against a part in an underserved area? Instead of protesting the park, they should demand a park ranger and extra staff to keep the park safe and clean.

"It sounds like it would be great for Watts, but not near the towers," said Michael Cornwell, chairman of the Committee for Simon Rodia's Towers in Watts. Rosie Lee Hooks, director of the Watts Towers Arts Center and Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center, warned a skateboard park would generate noise, drugs, violence and taggers. "

Hahn said: "Drugs and violence are not a problem (at other skateboard parks). Skateboarders are not criminals. I think it's pretty cool, really, to have kids skateboarding in the shadow of the Watts Towers. That really paints a picture of Watts."


mike.bohem@latimes.com