There were many plans presented, but eventually John Rennie’s plans for the London Bridge were decided upon and approved.

They rowed up to the bridge, tied cables around the piles and rowed away in separate directions and then… London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down!įast forward a century or so to 1176 when construction started on the first version of the London Bridge made of stone this bridge was completed 30-something years later in 1209.Ībout 600 years later, after surviving a couple massive fires and the Great Frost, it was decided that a new bridge was needed. As a joint effort, the Viking and Saxons quite literally tore the London Bridge apart. A walking tour of the bridge is conducted by Lake Havasu Visitor Center personnel, pointing out architecture details of the bridge, area icons of the city and strafing scars left on the bridge from World War II.30 years later in 1014, Vikings and Saxons came to invade London in what I assume to be an epic battle (I mean, how could it not be? There were Vikings involved). Now a mecca for boaters and water recreation, a line of shops, restaurants and resort hotels also line the banks. A tree lined river walk extends along the Bridgewater Canal. Today, the growing community of Lake Havasu City enjoys its exceptional clear sunny skies, the cool inviting waters of Lake Havasu and of course their London Bridge. A rather inventive idea, the Bridgewater Canal was dug under the completed bridge, creating an island between the city and Pittsburgh Point. Reconstruction in Arizona took another three years. Packing and shipment costs in 1967 added another million dollars to the project. Hoping the bridge would bring attention to his freshly established Lake Havasu City community, McCulloch had the bridge blocks mapped, numbered and packed for shipment to the United States. McCulloch answered the call and placed a winning bid of nearly 2.5 million dollars. Anxious to replace the bridge, the Common Council in London began to look for potential buyers. Not designed for modern automobile traffic, the bridge began to sink. The third London Bridge, designed by Scotsman, John Rennie, was completed in 1831. In a long lineage of bridges, the London Bridge, poorly built during the late 1100s, became the subject of the famed nursery rhyme. In fact it's about 5400 miles from London in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Where is London Bridge? Well, it is not where you'd expect it.

London bridge in arizona