Saloons are certainly a staple of the American West. From gun-slinging cowboys to hard-drinking outlaws to hard-scrabble sheriffs — when you think of the Wild West, you think of saloons.
Homer Thiel documented hundreds of the saloons that crowded Tucson’s streets in the late 1800s. He even dug one of them up.
Thiel is an archaeologist and the author of the book “Saloons of Tucson, Arizona Territory” — a 337-page chronicling of the rich history of Tucson saloons. The Show spoke with him about the characters, drinks and his inspiration for the book: an excavation of the Cactus Saloon on historic Block 83 in downtown Tucson.
Full conversation
HOMER THIEL: You’d be surprised what is preserved under buildings and asphalt parking lots in both Tucson and in Phoenix. Once you strip off the building foundations and the parking lots, you’re going to find the remnants of both historic period stuff and also the pre-contact Native American villages are waiting to be found…