How did London Bridge end up in Arizona?
And how two "crazy" ideas changed everything
Hello there!
Last week, I saw London Bridge was trending on twitter.
When I clicked to see why, I saw this photo admiring the famous London landmark.
There was just one problem – that wasn’t London Bridge.
But twitter, of course, kindly corrected the poster.
This is London Bridge.
Not quite as picturesque.
But unlike so many things in London, this London Bridge is not that old.
It was officially opened on March 6, 1973 (by Queen Elizabeth herself) to replace the previous London Bridge, which now stands in Arizona.
But how did it end up in Arizona?
And why?
I was curious…
The story of how London Bridge came to Arizona begins in the 1950s, with Robert McCulloch, a chainsaw and outboard motor magnate who lived in Los Angeles.
He was looking for a place where he could test and manufacture his motors, and chose Lake Havasu, Arizona, which sat on the border between California and Arizona.
He purchased Pittsburgh Point – 3,353 acres of unoccupied desert – in 1958.
But instead of leaving it as a test site, he decided to build a town – a place where people could live, work and play.
And he had the ideal partner to bring this vision to life: Cornelius Vanderbilt (C.V.) Wood.
Wood knew a thing or two about creating utopia – he was one of the key people involved in developing Disneyland, turning orange groves into the happiest place on Earth.
But Wood didn’t share McCulloch’s optimism for building a community in Arizona.
He did, however, agree to conduct a feasibility study “just to prove it’s hopeless.”
But it turned out McCulloch’s crazy idea wasn’t so crazy.
“If we can make a bunch of pieces go together, this is a perfect site for a new community,” Wood said.
McCulloch purchased another 13,000 acres, and in 1963, Lake Havasu City was established.
But how could McCulloch and Wood convince people to come?
In 1968, they got their answer, with another “crazy” idea from McCulloch.
Thousands of miles away, England’s London Bridge was falling down – literally.
The bridge, built in 1831, was not designed for the truck and automobile traffic it now had to support.
And rather than demolish the bridge, a City of London councilor named Ivan Luckin had another idea.
Why not sell it?
The other committee members scoffed at Luckin’s suggestion.
Who would want to buy a heap of old stones?
But Luckin was convinced there was one place he could sell the bridge – America.
After all, American publishing magnate Randolph William Hearst had dismantled old castles and re-built them in America (and Wales).
And the famous blitzed St. Mary Aldermanbury Church had been taken down and rebuilt in Fulton, Missouri.
“How much do you think we would get for the old Bridge?” the Chairman of Bridge House asked Luckin.
“Not less than one million, Sir,” was Luckin’s reply.
“One million dollars did you say?”
“Pounds, Sir,” he corrected.
Luckin convinced the committee it was an idea worth pursuing, and in the summer of 1967, they sent a marketing brochure to every British diplomatic outpost around the globe.
Though there had been enquiries and potential bidders from Australia and Canada, the most interest had come from America.
But five weeks before the the closing date for bids, they had no firm offers.
So in February 1968, Ivan persuaded the committee to let him go to the United States to make a final effort to whip up interest for the bridge.
His sales pitch wasn’t that he was selling a heap of stones – he was selling a piece of history.
“London Bridge is not just a bridge,” he said.
“It is the heir to 2,000 years of history going back to the first century A.D., to the time of the Roman Londinium.”
Joined by City Engineer Harold King, Luckin travelled from New York City to Washington D.C., holding press conferences and speaking to potential bidders.
Finally, they made their way to Los Angeles – for a meeting with CV Wood.
The men flew (on a McCulloch plane) to look at the site of Lake Havasu City. On return, they met Robert McCulloch, and began the negotiations.
“We poured an awful lot of scotch trying to loosen them up enough to give us some idea of how much they wanted,” McCulloch said.
Dismantling the bridge was projected to cost $1.2 million, so McCulloch decided to double the amount, and then added another $60,000 ($1000 for each year of his age).
Luckin was right — the City of London would get more than the £1 million he predicted for London Bridge.
Now if people thought Ivan Luckin’s idea to sell the bridge seemed ridiculous, McCulloch’s idea to buy it seemed even more ridiculous.
After all, Lake Havasu didn’t need a bridge.
But McCulloch thought London Bridge was just what he needed to attract visitors to his new town.
So he came up with a plan to carve one of the lake’s peninsulas into an island so the bridge would have something to span.
“I had this ridiculous idea of bringing it to the Arizona desert. I needed the bridge, but even if I didn’t, I might have bought it anyway.” - Robert McCulloch
And McCulloch’s bid of $2.46 million was enough to make him the owner of London Bridge.
But now came the hard part – transporting it to Arizona – and rebuilding it.
Workers labeled each brick, then dismantled and shipped more than 850 tons of granite blocks to California.
The blocks then traveled by truck to Arizona, to be sorted and reassembled.
Many questioned McCulloch’s idea to build a bridge in the desert – and his investment.
The New York Times reported “Good Luck Yank” was even written across one of the stones being assembled.
But McCulloch was undeterred.
He had a town that needed tourists and money – and was convinced that London Bridge would lure in both.
Rebuilding the bridge took three years, with a crew of 40 men sorting and reassembling more than 10,000 stones.
To ensure this bridge could support stronger traffic, it was rebuilt around a steel framework.
And while the bridge cost $2.46 million to buy, the project costs soared to $10 million after the transportation, assembly, and dredging were factored in.
By 1971, the project was widely referred to as “McCulloch's Folly.”
But on October 10, 1971, Lake Havasu officially dedicated London Bridge’s new home, with many British and Arizona officials attending.
“Home at last” was written in the sky, and more than 30,000 people gathered to watch the flamboyant celebrations, which included a parade, and the release of 30,000 balloons, hundreds of white pigeons, skydivers, marching bands, and hot air balloons.
The weekend festivities also included a lavish banquet, where 800 guests dined on lobster and roast beef – the same meal King William IV was served during the bridge’s original unveiling in 1831.
“It's a supergimmick,” a British newsman attending the event told the New York Times.
“It's all quite mad — it could only happen in America.
“Only an American would think of investing that much in something as crazy as this.”
But “McCulloch’s Folly” created the buzz – and delivered the visitors to the area.
McCulloch recouped all the costs of buying and reassembling the bridge – and it brought millions of visitors to the area.
By the time McCulloch died in 1977, Lake Havasu City had grown from a few hundred residents to a population of more than 10,000.
Lake Havasu City now has a population over 50,000 and attracts nearly a million visitors annually. Visitors come for the warm climate, the bass fishing, and of course, the historic bridge.
And while it may not be able to top the visitor numbers of Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Lake Havasu’s London Bridge is the most popular man made attraction in the state.
One more thing…
McCulloch may have purchased London Bridge, but did he think he was actually getting Tower Bridge?
It’s a nice story, but reports and articles say it’s just not true.
In an 1983 interview, Ivan Luckin confirmed that McCulloch knew what he was buying.
McCulloch’s grandson, Michael, agrees.
“I know for a fact they knew exactly which bridge they were going to buy,” said Michael.
“Do you think anyone in their right mind would look at Tower Bridge and think they could take it apart and bring it here?
“But RP (McCulloch) and CV (Wood) felt that by allowing that rumour to perpetuate, it gave them continued publicity, so they let it go.”
And one more anecdote just because…
When not designing theme parks and relocating bridges for the desert, C.V. Wood was searching for…the perfect chili.
“Woody” himself was named the World Champion Chef de Chili in 1968, and brought showmanship into chili competitions.
Wood and race car designer Carroll Shelby (remember him from Ford vs. Ferrari?) were such enthusiastic chili fans that they even created the International Chili Society.
And unlike many chili connoisseurs, “Woody” was kind enough to share his recipe.
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-Beth
Nice piece, Beth! I had to chuckle at the visitors coming to Havasu for the “warm climate.” If you enjoy 120 degree days (49 C), be sure to pop by in July!!
Wow, what a fascinating story, made my day. Looking forward to many more of such very particular insights. Thank you.