On October 10, 1971, a bridge transferred from the capital of the United Kingdom - London - was opened to traffic in the American federal state of Arizona. It is the famous London Bridge, which once stood on the River Thames and connected the center of London with the south coast. Namely, in the early 1960s, the English decided to remove the London Bridge and build a new one, which could withstand a higher traffic load.
The old bridge, instead of being destroyed, was bought by American entrepreneur Robert McCulloch and had it rebuilt in Arizona, in a place called Lake Havasu City. Thus, the approximately 140-year-old bridge is open for traffic about 8,500 kilometers away from its original location.
A city named Lake Havasu City was founded by McCulloch after it bought about 8,000 acres of land in Arizona. Lake Havasu City is located on the Colorado River, on the border of Arizona and California. It is a mostly desert area located about 200 miles south of Las Vegas, near the three states of Nevada, Arizona and California.
To raise the profile of Lake Havasu City, McCulloch bought the aforementioned London Bridge and erected it in that new town. He paid about two and a half million dollars for the bridge, but transporting and reassembling it in Arizona cost another seven million dollars.
After being dismantled, each of the 10,276 outer granite blocks from the original bridge was shipped to Lake Havasu City. Each block was numbered before the bridge was dismantled. The blocks were shipped overseas via the Panama Canal to California and by truck from Long Beach to Arizona.
The interior of the bridge is hollow because it has been restored with a steel frame lined with granite. This reduced its weight from 130,000 tons to 30,000 tons, while the structure was strengthened to accommodate car traffic. It stretches 280 meters and is designed to connect pedestrians, drivers and cyclists on “land” Lake Havasu with an island on the Colorado River. After three years of restoration, Lake Havasu City re-dedicated the bridge in an extravagant ceremony held on October 10, 1971. The Mayor of London City was also present at the opening of the bridge in Lake Havas City. The bridge is still a tourist attraction in Lake Havasu City today.
Today it is a historic and, some say, haunted bridge attraction number one built in Arizona. Attracting visitors from all over the world, numerous fans include photographers, filmmakers, authors, history buffs, boaters, kayakers, rowers and music lovers at concerts under its acoustic arches.
Who was Robert McCulloch, who decided on such an unusual venture to buy a London bridge? He was an entrepreneur who did many jobs. McCulloch chainsaws and lawn mowers can still be bought today, and he was even involved in helicopter production and oil exploration. The real breakthrough came in 1949. That year McCulloch made a revolution in the entire chainsaw industry by introducing a lightweight chainsaw for one man called 3-25. North American woodworking would never be the same again. Building on the success of 3-25, McCulloch Motors continued to grow and expand into new markets. In addition to powerful and world-famous chainsaws, the business by the end of the 1950s included aircraft engines as well as go-kart engines.
Robert McCulloch’s great undertaking was the establishment of new settlements in Arizona, Nevada, and California. It was mostly about him buying desert land and starting the construction of new residential zones on it. Robert McCulloch died on February 25, 1977 but his stamps bearing his name proudly, giving garden owners around the world strength where it is most needed.
