Cool Arizona Places: London Bridge, Lake Havasu

If the Grand Canyon is the granddaddy of Arizona attractions, London Bridge is the prince. The span, which traces its royal roots to 1831 England, was purchased in 1971 for $2.4 million, but it cost more than $4 million to ship. A look at this big, blocky bridge is unaffected, but when you walk across, you have to wonder in whose footsteps you're following — Charles Dickens? Jack the Ripper? Queen Victoria?

History

In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing." On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was sold to an American. It was purchased by the Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000.

The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a newspaper interview.

As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was meticulously numbered. The blocks were then shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona.

The bridge was reconstructed by Sundt Construction at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on October 10th 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridge spans the Bridgewater Channel canal that leads from the Uptown area of Lake Havasu City and follows McCulloch Boulevard onto an Island that has yet to be named.

The London Bridge that was rebuilt at Lake Havasu City consists of a frame with stones from Rennie's London Bridge used as cladding. The cladding stones used are 6 to 8 inches thick. Some of the stones from the bridge were left behind at Merrivale Quarry at Princetown in Devon. When Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stones were sold in an online auction.

Website: http://www.golakehavasu.com/

Looking for a fast and fair company to work with for your Air Conditioning repair or replacement needs?  Give Aaron’s Mechanical Service a call and let us help you get comfortable! Call 623-388-4436

Presented by;
Aaron’s Mechanical Service
623-388-4436
info@aaronsmechanicalservice.com
http://aaronsmechanicalservice.com