In a story that sounds almost too strange to be true, American businessman Robert P. McCulloch purchased the original 1831 London Bridge from the City of London in 1968 for $2,460,000. Facing structural issues and no longer able to support modern traffic demands, the historic bridge was being replaced. McCulloch saw a unique opportunity—not just to preserve history, but to put his newly planned community, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, on the map.
Each granite block of the bridge was meticulously numbered, dismantled, and shipped across the Atlantic to Long Beach, California. From there, it was transported overland to the Arizona desert. Reconstruction took three years, and the bridge was officially rededicated in 1971. To complete the illusion, a canal was dredged beneath it, making it a functioning structure over water once again.
In a clever legal twist, U.S. Customs classified the 137-year-old granite structure as an “antique,” thereby exempting it from the standard 11% import tax on construction stone—saving McCulloch nearly $300,000.
Today, the London Bridge in Lake Havasu stands not only as a unique slice of British history but also as a monument to one man’s vision and marketing genius.
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McMulloch even sold 2"x4"x1" pieces of the bridge to off set his costs.
ReplyDeleteIf you go on a boat under the bridge, you can see strafing marks on the side from WWII.
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