Why london bridge is in arizona

McCulloch, standing on London Bridge as it is dismantled, ready for transportation back to America, April 18th The London Bridge sales pitch raised more than a few eyebrows in the United States, but for one businessman, it seemed like a natural fit. Robert McCulloch was a Missouri-born industrialist who had made millions heading up companies that sold oil, motors and chainsaws.

McCulloch had founded the community of Lake Havasu City at the site and had designs on making it a tourist oasis, but he was still struggling to attract visitors. When his business associate C. Wood told him about London Bridge, the two concluded that it was just the kind of eye-catching centerpiece Lake Havasu needed.

Negotiations for the purchase proceeded rapidly during the spring of According to McCulloch, the most difficult part was hashing out a sales price with the City of London authorities.

London Bridge under construction in Arizona. McCulloch wanted the fabled bridge of the nursery rhyme for his Lake Havasu City - which was a planned community he established in on the shores of Lake Havasu.

Today instead of linking the two halves of London it links an island on the Colorado River with the main part of Lake Havasu City. Built in the s, by it was no longer sturdy enough to carry the ever-increasing loads of traffic and so London was in need of a new and stronger bridge. The last thing they wanted was for the London Bridge to be falling down.

In fact, due to the weight of automobile traffic crossing, the bridge was sinking into the River Thames at a rate of an inch every eight years. By the east end of the London Bridge was 3 or 4 inches lower than the west side. Indeed after installing the bridge, land sales improved and McCulloch managed to recover all of his expenses of buying, shipping, and reconstructing the bridge.

He had actually obtained the land at no cost and so it wasn't hard for the sales of the land to pay for the bridge. Today the London Bridge has reportedly become one of Arizona's greatest tourist attractions - although nothing like the must-see Grand Canyon. According to Go Lake Havasu , it is the state's second-largest attraction. Fortunately, the purchase of the bridge included its iconic and ornate lampposts. So, why did you say it's "sort of" the original London Bridge?

The load-bearing elements of the bridge are a new structure, but the stonework from the original bridge was used to clad that structure. It's the original skin with a new skeleton, basically. Was there a need for a bridge in Lake Havasu City? At that time, what today is an island was a peninsula jutting into the lake.

After the bridge was rebuilt, the city dredged a canal under the bridge, creating an island. Did the project pay off? Interest in buying land in Lake Havasu City increased after the bridge was completed, and McCulloch is reported to have recouped all the costs of buying and reassembling the bridge.

Today, the city bills the bridge as "Arizona tourism's second-largest attraction, after the Grand Canyon. Membership My Account. Rewards for Good. Share with facebook. Share with twitter. Share with linkedin. Share using email. More on History These once iconic stores are no more.

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