An Italian immigrant named Sam Rodia built the towers (without help, training or blueprints or machinery) from 1921 to 1954 on his home property. The exhibit includes 17 connected structures, including the three main towers - one coming in at 99.5 feet (at 100 feet he would've needed a building permit). He modeled them after an obelisk procession in his hometown of Nola, Italy, that pays respect to St. Paolini.
Broken tile, bottles, ceramic, mugs, plates and glass were all imbedded into the steel and concrete framed structures. After Rodia 'retired' and walked away from his masterpiece, the city tried to condemn the property for safety reasons. A preservation group was formed and proved through a stress test with a crane that the towers were stable enough to withstand an enormous amount of leverage (the crane actually started to tip as it pulled on the towers).
At some point the tiny house on the property burned down but the towers remained unharmed. It is now fenced in to prevent vandalism and receives funding from city, state and federal government programs as a National Historic Landmark.
Here's a short documentary on the towers that goes into more detail.
And here are a few more pictures.
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