London Bridge - Lake Havasu City, Arizona

DATE:  July 10, 2015

HISTORICAL SITE:  London Bridge

LOCATION:  1550 London Bridge Rd., Lake Havasu City, Mohave Co., Arizona

"London Bridge   Opened by The Right Honorable The Lord Mayor of London Alderman Sir Peter Studd G.B.E., M.A.D.Sc.   in the presence of The Honorable Jack Williams Govenor of Arizona   October 10, 1981

Robert P. McCullough Sr.   Founder   Lake Havasu City

C.V. Wood Jr.  Master Planner   Lake Havasu City"

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS: 

Dirk and I got into Lake Havasu City about mid-day and it's freaking hot. Certainly not as hot as when Dana and Ron visited a couple of weeks ago where it was still over 100 at 9:00pm, but definitely hot enough.

Despite the fact that I was born and raised in Los Angeles, I have never been to Lake Havasu. I wanted to put my feet in the lake so I could say I was there. I think we were out of the car maybe 15 minutes when I wanted back in the air conditioning.

 

I've wanted to see London Bridge for a long time but just never got around to it. This was not our most direct route from Mesa but if not now...when?

So…How did the London Bridge, the same one that spanned the Thames, get to...of all places...Arizona?

The bridge that went over the River Thames was actually several bridges. It is said there has been a London Bridge for nearly 2,000 years. Romans, Danes, Saxons, Vikings, invaders and natives alike had a hand in the building and tearing down of several of the earlier bridges.

The first stone bridge was built circa 1200. Disaster struck in 1212 when a group of people were stuck on the bridge with fires on either side. Many died by fire.

It was customary between 1305 and 1660 to display the heads of traitors on spikes at the southern gateway. The head of William Wallace (as Mel Gibson said “Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!”)  was the first such “traitor” to be displayed.

In 1623, another fire struck the bridge and burned 43 houses nearby. The bridge was falling apart; the people were moving away and something had to be done.

In 1657, the bridge was partially rebuilt and remained that way until 1831. A new bridge was built with granite and had 5 high arches.

 

The new bridge was immediately busy and then a new kind of traveler came…the commuter. Traffic increased and the bridge was widened in 1903.

By 1924, the bridge was sinking on one side. It had been designed for horse drawn carriages, not the weight of an ever increasing number of automobiles.

In 1962, it was found that London Bridge WAS indeed falling down. 

In 1968, the city of London put the bridge up for sale and Robert McCulloch, found of Lake Havasu City bought it for $2.4 million.

To the tune of another $7 million, the bridge was numbered, taken apart and shipped to the U.S.

In 1968, the then mayor of London visited Arizona and placed the corner stone.

It was completed in 1971 but not over water…the land below was dredged out and flooded. Today, it is one of the biggest draws to the area.

As Dirk told me…”we kicked their asses and then took their bridge”