Papago Park is a beloved destination in metro Phoenix, with thousands of people flocking to the park each year to enjoy nature in the heart of the fifth-largest U.S. city.
However, Papago Park could have been a much different experience had a 1970s proposal that generated a lot of buzz been approved by city leaders.
The idea? A 600-foot-tall, neon-lit saguaro cactus in the center of Papago Park towering above the city.
Here’s everything to know about the uniquely Arizona chapter in Phoenix history, including where the idea came from, how it was received and why it never happened.
History of Papago Park
The 12,000-acre Phoenix park has a long history dating back to the Hohokam, who viewed the area as sacred and marked the seasons with the way the light shined through holes in the buttes.
As the area was settled, Papago Park was mostly vacant and was even designated as a national monument for several years, Phoenix historian Steve Schumacher said. During WWII, the area was heavily used for military purposes including a military base and German prisoner of war camp.
After the war, Phoenix went through a major growth spurt, with the population quadrupling during the ’50s. In the ’60s and ’70s, the city struggled to expand infrastructure, keeping pace with growth, while also preserving the natural beauty of the Valley.
It was also a time when Phoenix was fighting to differentiate itself from other western cities.
“For the longest time, Phoenix was just a spot between Los Angeles and El Paso,” Schumacher said.
Phoenix wanted something besides good golf and the Grand Canyon to set the city apart and attract wealthy investors from other parts of the country, he explained.
A 600-foot-tall neon cactus in Papago Park?
Enter commercial artist Howard Walrath, a man with an idea. An unusual idea, to put it mildly.
He wanted to build a massive neon saguaro cactus in the park. The 60-story landmark would house a restaurant, shops and cocktail lounge in the center about halfway up the structure for birds eye views of the Valley.
He shared the idea with the Phoenix Parks board in November 1976. He told the board that he’d talked to business leaders who suggested it be built downtown, though he thought the pristine desert beauty of Papago Park was a better fit.
Ultimately, the board took no action on the presentation, though it noted that the Valley of the Sun Convention and Visitors Bureau would study the idea.
The Arizona Republic ran a short article on the front page, comparing the suggested landmark to the Eiffel Tower and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The next day, the newspaper included an illustrated mockup from Walrath on an inside page.
Why the saguaro cactus tower outraged Arizonans
And, boy, were the readers outraged. In the coming days, at least four letters to the editor were published lambasting the “monstrosity.”
“Let Mr. Walrath design a giant neon slot machine and present it to Las Vegas,” one wrote.
“Where will go if this thing is built, those of us who visit this lovely desert place?” another questioned. “How will we escape the site of this blight when they’ll be able to see it in Mesa?”
The national press even picked up on the story, according to another Republic article, with everyone from East Coast talk shows to Hoosier tourists discussing the idea.
The article also debunked Walrath’s mockups, noting that to support all the amenities he listed it would “be so fat (and dumpy, as one official put it) that it wouldn’t even look like a saguaro.”
Ultimately, the debate died down, the city politely rejected the idea and the 600-foot-tall saguaro became just another ludicrous idea.
What would metro Phoenix be like if the tower were built?
Imagine though, for just a moment, what metro Phoenix could have been like with a 60-story neon cactus towering over the heart of the Valley.
Had the saguaro cactus come to fruition, metro Phoenix might have been a different place. Schumacher said he thinks there would have been a lot more developments around popular open spaces and recreation areas.
Around the same time Walrath proposed the massive cactus, others had suggested building trams on Camelback and South mountains, which would transport tourists to attractions on the peaks, Schumacher said. Others were looking to bring a 400-foot tower to downtown Phoenix.
“It would have unleashed more freedom at doing things like that,” Schumacher said. “I think that would have an tacit approval to do things like that that really block out the scenery and move in on our natural resources that we appreciate.”
Instead, Papago Park and its sandstone buttes are unencumbered, leaving thousands of visitors each year to hike, bike and enjoy the natural beauty of the Valley of the Sun.
“We as Phoenicians and Valley people, even though we live in this sprawling community with new houses and everything being built out, we still appreciate the undeveloped land like Papago Park,” Schumacher said. “We don’t want it disturbed and we never really have.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The story of the 600-foot cactus that could have towered over Phoenix
