Lake Havasu RV Park

Have you ever wondered why the London Bridge spans a lagoon in Lake Havasu, Arizona? That’s not the real London Bridge, is it? As a matter of fact, it is. Built in 1831, the London Bridge that spanned the Thames River in London was too heavy for its own good. It was so heavy it began sinking down into the clay riverbanks, and by the late ‘60s it was in total disrepair. London officials determined that the bridge would have to be replaced, but they did not want to simply destroy the old bridge. How could they go and tear down the falling-down bridge of children’s nursery rhymes?

At this point Robert McCulloch of chainsaw fortune entered the picture. He and a friend purchased the old bridge for $2.4 million and decided to transport it to the Arizona desert. At the time it was the highest price ever paid for an antique, and people mocked him far and wide. Transport the London Bridge to a tiny no-name community in Arizona??

It took three years for workers to disassemble the bridge and fly its bricks to Arizona and reassemble them over Lake Havasu. The bridge reopened in Arizona in 1971, and suddenly Lake Havasu became a popular tourist destination! Real estate near the London Bridge became hot property and the little town blossomed. Now the London Bridge is one of Arizona’s biggest attractions and Lake Havasu is a prime destination with golf courses, beautiful homes, and an entire winter population of retirees in RV’s.

Visitors can explore a recreated London village at the foot of the old bridge, and the local radio station KBBC even identifies as “BBC radio”, a little bit of England in the desert.