He was born Sabato Rodia on February 12, 1879 in the tiny village of Ribottoli on the southwestern side of Italy. At age 15, he sailed for America. He settled in Philadelphia, then Seattle, then Northern California before moving to Southern California. He adopted the name Sam and worked as a laborer, laying cement and tile, among other things. Rodia was known as a hot-tempered man - something of a crank, complaining often about the government, the Catholic Church, the behavior of children, women who wore too much makeup. He may also have been a drunk.

In 1921, with help from his brother, Rodia bought an oddly shaped, triangular lot at 1765 E. 107th Street. Back then, Watts was its own city - it would vote to become part of L.A. in 1926. With his third wife, Carmen, Rodia moved into the small house on the property, the last lot on a dead-end street. Located next to a railroad, it was loud and dusty with streetcars and freight trains rumbling past several times a day. At age 42, Rodia began working on his masterpiece. Every day after work and all through the weekends, he would search for usable material and work, work, work. Carmen soon left him; according to Rodia, it was due to his obsession with the project.