How the Famous London Bridge Really Ended Up in Arizona

We're not talking about London's famous Tower Bridge in the photo above. We're positive the British wouldn't sell that to the United States.

There is, however, the actual London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The story about how it arrived in the States is as crazy as the idea of it truly being here.

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One man's dream to develop land near Lake Havasu turned into a far-fetched idea to bring the London Bridge to Arizona.

History of London Bridge in London, United Kingdom

The original "Old" London Bridge in London was constructed in 1209 spanning the River Thames. This bridge went through many changes throughout the years, as well as multiple fires.

In 1799, a competition was held to design the "New" London Bridge. One design was chosen but proved to be too complicated to construct. The design was then awarded to John Rennie, whose son, also John Rennie, completed the bridge in 1831.

By 1968, the bridge was deemed unsafe for the modern-day traffic loads. A new bridge was erected in its place in 1973.

This is where the story of the London Bridge coming to America starts.

How the London Bridge Wound Up on Lake Havasu City, Arizona

During the development of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, a man named Robert P. McCulloch bought some land on the shores of Lake Havasu with intentions to develop it. That, however, didn't pan out as he had planned.

McCulloch's real estate heard that the London Bridge was for sale and suggested McColloch purchase it. Crazy, right?!

That's what McCulloch thought, too. After some thought, he decided to buy it for 1.02 million British pounds or 2.46 million dollars. That's a lot of money in those days, but that's not the craziest part.

In London, the bridge was dismantled brick-by-brick and numbered. After it was completely dismantled, the bricks were sent to a nearby quarry to have the back of the bricks sliced off.

Then, McCulloch's real estate agent worked with a shipping company to have the bricks shipped from London to the United States. The bricks arrived in California and were then transported to Arizona in 1968.

Reconstructing the London Bridge on the Shores of Arizona's Lake Havasu

The "New New" London Bridge construction took three years to complete.

Construction began in 1968, with a concrete foundation and infrastructure created and surfaced with the original bricks from the "Old New" London Bridge. Think of it as a giant Lego set pasted to a modern frame.

At the time, the bridge didn't span a river, but a portion of Lake Havasu called Pittsburg Point. The area was dredged to create the current canal so the bridge appears to now span a river.

The Lake Havasu City London Bridge is a popular tourist destination that is fully developed as intended by Robert P. McCulloch.

[Wikipedia]