Presented by William L. Bird

Historian William L. Bird explores how the saguaro cactus became the far-flung icon of the American west. Historically the Carnegiea gigantea served many promotional purposes, first, as a leading botanical curiosity in 19th century government survey reports; and later, as a welcoming metaphor of southwestern tourism.The saguaro's outstretched arms beckoned visitors and hooked new residents. Postwar publicists posed models in and on the spiny arms of saguaros. The saguaros that sacrificed their spines for tourism represent the closing of an era of environmental ambivalence at the dawn of a greater appreciation of nature’s sharpest curves.

William L. Bird, is Curator Emeritus of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. His interests lie at the intersection of politics, popular culture and the history of visual display. He received a Ph.D. in History from Georgetown University (1985). His work has appeared in Smithsonian; History Today; Technology & Culture; The Encyclopedia of Radio and Television; and American Art Review. His museum exhibits and books include Holidays on Display; Paint by Number: America’s Doll House; Souvenir Nation; and American Democracy. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.