London Bridge Lake Havasu Ceramic Ornament

Acquiring the London Bridge for Lake Havasu City The London Bridge in Lake Havasu City held the record for the World’s Largest Antique ever sold, and its purchase and journey from London to Arizona certainly created some excitement. The bridge was built in 1831 to span the River Thames in London. In the early 1960s, it began sinking into the river and was put up for auction. McCulloch won the bridge for Lake Havasu City with his bid of $2,460,000. The London Bridge was dismantled brick-by-brick over the course of three years and slowly reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, with a total shipping cost of $240,000. Pittsburg Point, which was once a peninsula jutting into the lake, was turned into an island (now called “the island” by locals) by dredging a narrow channel under the bridge. The London Bridge officially opened in 1971, with much celebration and fanfare. Today, London Bridge is a major tourist attraction rising out of the desert, and surrounded by the thriving Lake Havasu City.