Posts from ethanedwards in thread „London Bridge In The Arizona Desert?“

    Hi Bill.


    Thanks for posting this interesting piece.
    I remember this well, and as I recall,
    didn't this guy think he had bought the
    more famous 'Tower Bridge??


    Here's a piece courtesy of Wikipedia

    On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was sold to the American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. A popular urban legend is that he believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge, although McCulloch denied this. As the bridge was disassembled, each piece was numbered to aid reassembly and those markings can still be seen today. The bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona and re-dedicated on October 10, 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridge spans a man-made canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centrepiece of a theme park in English style, complete with mock-Tudor shopping mall. Rennie's London Bridge has become Arizona's second-biggest tourist attraction, after the Grand Canyon.


    The version of London Bridge that was rebuilt at Lake Havasu consists of a concrete frame with stones from the Old London Bridge used as cladding. Not all of the bridge was transported to America, as some was kept behind in lieu of tax duties. The remaining stone was left at Merrivale Quarry on Dartmoor in Devon, so a large part of Rennie's bridge never left the UK. When Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stones were sold in an online auction.



    The Tower Bridge


    If he had bought this, Arizona would have had an even bigger attraction!!