London Bridge (Lake Havasu City)

London Bridge in Lake Havasu
London Bridge in Lake Havasu City
Coordinates	34°28′18″N 114°20′50″W / 34.4716789°N 114.3471778°W / 34.4716789; -114.3471778Coordinates: 34°28′18″N 114°20′50″W / 34.4716789°N 114.3471778°W / 34.4716789; -114.3471778
Carries	McCulloch Boulevard North
Crosses	Bridgewater Channel Canal
Locale	Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Clynelish (Brora) sandstone and various granite mixes
Total length	930 feet (280 m; 167 sm)[1]
Longest span	45.6 metres (150 ft)[2]
No. of spans	5
History
Designer	John Rennie
Construction start	1825 1967 (rebuild)
Construction end	1831 1971 (rebuild)
Opened	August 1, 1831 (London) October 10, 1971 (Lake Havasu)
Statistics
Toll	None
Location
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It was originally built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. The bridge was purchased by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London in 1968. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge cut and transported to the United States for use in the construction of a new bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu. The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge. The bridge was completed in 1971 (along with a canal), and links an island in the Colorado River with the main part of Lake Havasu City. The "rededication" of the London Bridge took place on October 10, 1971.^[3]

History[]

London Bridge in Arizona, 1972, showing the new canal.

The 1831 London Bridge was the last project of engineer John Rennie and was completed by his son, John Rennnie.^[4] By 1962, it was not sturdy enough to carry the increased load of traffic; the bridge was sold by the City of London in 1968 to make way for its replacement.

The purchaser, Robert P. McCulloch, was an entrepreneur and real estate developer who founded Lake Havasu City. He installed the bridge to attract tourists and retirement home buyers to his properties there.

Purchase and transfer to Arizona[]

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Originally, the deserted Lake Havasu vacant land was given to the state of Arizona by the U.S. Federal Government. The federal property was an abandoned military landing strip. McCulloch made a deal with the state government and received the property for free with a promise to develop the land. But the real estate agents could not bring in prospective buyers, because the land was far from centers of population and had a very hot, arid climate. McCulloch's real estate agent, Robert Plumer, learned that London Bridge was for sale and convinced McCulloch to buy it and bring it to the area to attract potential land buyers.

The initial response from McCulloch was, "That's the craziest idea I have ever heard," but after consideration, he decided to go ahead and purchased it for $2.46m (£1.78m).

There is a popular rumor that the bridge was bought in the mistaken belief that it was London's more recognizable Tower Bridge,^[5][6][7] but the allegation was vehemently denied by both McCulloch and Ivan Luckin, who arranged the bridge's sale.^[8]

The bridge's facing stones were removed, with each numbered and its position catalogued. After the bridge was dismantled, the stones were transported to Merrivale, Devon, Quarry where 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) were sliced off many of the original stones.

Plumer arranged with a cargo shipping company that was going to sail a newly built ship, without any cargo, from the U.K. to the U.S. Plumer negotiated to pay for all the voyage's operating costs, in return for carrying the bridge stones as cargo to the U.S., which was far less than the going rate shipping costs.

The new ship transported the bridge in pieces through the Panama Canal and unloaded it at the Port of Long Beach, California. From there, the brige was transported overland to Lake Havasu City, where re-assembly began in 1968.^[9]

Reconstruction in Lake Havasu[]

London Bridge in Arizona, 1973.

On September 23, 1968, the bridge's foundation stone was re-laid at the reconstruction site in Arizona, by Sir Gilbert Inglefield, Lord Mayor of London.^[9] The original stonework was used to clad a new concrete interior structure.^[1] The reconstruction took slightly over three years and was completed in late 1971 by Sundt Construction.^[10]

The bridge was not rebuilt over a river, but was put up on land between the main part of the city and Pittsburgh Point, which at that time was a peninsula jutting into Lake Havasu.^[11] Once completed, a construction company dredged the Bridgewater Channel Canal under the bridge, across the neck of the Pittsburgh Point peninsula. The canal separating it from the city made Pittsburgh Point an island. As a result, the bridge now traverses a navigable shortcut between the Thompson Bay in Lake Havasu, south of Pittsburgh Point, and the northern part of Lake Havasu.^[12]

Use as a tourist attraction[]

After the bridge was reconstructed, prospective buyers of land were attracted to visit the bridge and take a tour of properties for sale. Land sales improved, and McCulloch recouped all his expenses on the purchase and shipping of the bridge. Since he had obtained the land at no cost, the sale of the properties paid for the bridge and more. Recent years have seen much development in the area of the bridge to increase tourist interest.

The original "English Village" was an open-air mall with a hedge maze and historical museum built in faux-English style. It deteriorated over time and sections of the mall were leveled. The Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau has undertaken a revitalization of the English Village,^[13] with conversion of the mall to condos proposed in 2011 by Virtual Realty Enterprises, its current owner.^[14]

In popular culture[]

• The 1983 American psychological thriller Olivia used the relocation of the bridge as a central plot device.^[15]
• The 1985 made-for-TV movie Bridge Across Time, a supernatural crime drama, used the relocation of the bridge as a plot device. In the film, the spirit of Jack the Ripper was somehow transported to 1980s Arizona along with a stone from London Bridge, resulting in a murder spree.
• London Bridge is featured in the 1987 film Million Dollar Mystery.^[16]
• The paranormal reality television series Ghost Adventures covered the story of the London Bridge, in the episode "London Bridge".^[17]

Image gallery[]

• 

  London Bridge in the early 1890s

• 

  London Bridge around 1900 with traffic

• 

  Bridge reconstruction at Lake Havasu in March 1971

• 

  The rebuilt London Bridge in 2003

• 

  Sign on the bridge

• 

  Labelled stone still visible

• 

  Aerial photo of the bridge in 2011

A panoramic view of the entire bridge.

London Bridge in about 1870 when it crossed the River Thames in London

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to London Bridge Lake Havasu.

• London Bridge (1971) at Structurae
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AZ-57, "London Bridge, Spanning manmade channel (moved from London, UK), Lake Havasu City, Mohave County, AZ", 3 photos, 5 data pages, 1 photo caption page
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: London Bridge
• Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau about London Bridge
• RoadTrip America about London Bridge
• Potts, Lauren (24 September 2018). "The bridge that crossed an ocean (And the man who moved it)". BBC News. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
• Andrew, E. (2018). How London Bridge ended up in Arizona. Retrieved October 10, 2019.