25 Feb Lake Havasu City London Bridge
The iconic Lake Havasu City London Bridge attracts thousands of visitors every year to peer over its edge into the calming waters of Lake Havasu. The London Bridge is marvelous structure, and many wonder about how it arrived to the city of Lake Havasu. The original London Bridge, made famous by its cameo in the “My Fair Lady” song, was constructed nearly 800 years ago in London! Before it graced the waters of Lake Havasu, head architect Peter of Colechurch assembled the bridge to span the Thames River. The original framework of the bridge proved to be sub par, so many repairs over the years 1200-1800 were required to keep the bridge safe and accessible to the public. The frequent work done to improve the bridge became a comedic English pop culture reference, which can be heard in the lyrics of several different nursery rhymes.
By the end of the 18th century, it was becoming more and more obvious that the London Bridge needed to be replaced. Scottish engineer John Rennie designed the plans for a new bridge, and the work was completed by 1831. However, the new London Bridge was not designed with the evolution of automobiles in mind. Constant traffic placed a heavy burden on the structural integrity of the bridge, and it began sinking several inches every year. The bridge continued to have problems in London.
Not satisfied with the efficiency of the London Bridge, the London Common Council began to seek potential buyers. Famous entrepreneur and founder of Lake Havasu City Robert McCulloch purchased the bridge for 2.5 million dollars in 1968. How does someone transport a whole bridge 5000 miles over the ocean? McCulloch had the London Bridge disassembled block by block, and numbered each block before shipping each part to California. The Lake Havasu City London Bridge was then trucked from California to Lake Havasu City where reconstruction was completed in 1971. According to an Arizona tourism center, the London Bridge is the second largest attraction in Arizona, outdone only by the Grand Canyon.
There are many exciting activities to be a part of when visiting the Lake Havasu City London Bridge. One of them includes renting a boat from the Nautical Watersports Center to experience the bridge from the amazing waters directly below it!