Did Robert McCulloch buy the wrong London Bridge?

The Man Who Bought London Bridge: The True Story Behind the Legend

There are certain tales that sound too outlandish to be true. One such story involves the time an American tycoon bought London Bridge and had it shipped across the Atlantic to the Arizona desert. While it sounds like something straight out of a satire, this is no myth. The story of how a British bridge wound up in the U.S. is a fascinating, often misunderstood chapter of real estate and history—one that captures the audacity and imagination of one very ambitious man: Robert P. McCulloch.

London Bridge is Falling Down—Literally

In the mid-20th century, London Bridge was in trouble. The iconic bridge, originally built in 1831 by civil engineer John Rennie, had become a bit of a relic. Designed to handle horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians, it was struggling to cope with 20th-century traffic. By the 1960s, it was quite literally sinking into the Thames, at a rate of about an inch every eight years. If something wasn’t done soon, the bridge would collapse.

Rather than simply dismantling it and letting it fade into history, London’s City Council came up with a novel idea: they would sell the bridge. And that’s where Robert P. McCulloch, a wealthy American businessman with a flair for the unconventional, enters the picture.

Meet Robert P. McCulloch: Entrepreneur, Visionary, and Bridge Buyer

Robert McCulloch, the man who bought London Bridge.

McCulloch wasn’t your average businessman. A descendant of John P. Morgan and founder of McCulloch Motors, he had made his fortune manufacturing everything from chainsaws to car engines. But it wasn’t just industry that interested McCulloch—he also had a keen eye for real estate. In the 1960s, he was in the midst of developing Lake Havasu City, a remote planned community in the middle of Arizona’s Mojave Desert.

The problem? Lake Havasu City needed a hook. How do you convince people to move to the middle of nowhere, especially in a place where summer temperatures regularly hover over 100°F? McCulloch needed something spectacular to put his desert town on the map. So, when he heard that London Bridge was up for sale, he saw an opportunity. Why not transport a piece of British history to the American Southwest?

The Purchase of a Lifetime

In 1968, McCulloch bought London Bridge for a cool $2.46 million (around $20 million in today’s money).

London Bridge being dismantled in 1968.

After the sale, the 130-year-old bridge was meticulously dismantled, brick by brick. Each piece of granite was carefully numbered and shipped, over the course of three years, to the shores of Lake Havasu, where McCulloch had planned a man-made channel to showcase his new acquisition.

Rebuilding London Bridge in the Desert

Transporting and reassembling London Bridge was no small feat. The structure, weighing thousands of tons, had to be transported across the Atlantic Ocean and then trucked from Long Beach, California, to Arizona. Once the granite blocks arrived in Lake Havasu, the real challenge began: putting it back together. A team of engineers and architects spent years painstakingly reconstructing the bridge over a concrete framework. By 1971, after much fanfare and anticipation, the new London Bridge officially opened in its new home, looking much as it had in London.

McCulloch’s gamble paid off. The reconstructed bridge became an immediate tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over the world curious to see how a slice of London had ended up in the Arizona desert. And while some scoffed at the idea of relocating such a historic monument, the bridge proved to be a brilliant marketing move for Lake Havasu City.

The original London Bridge now located in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

The Urban Legend of London Bridge and Tower Bridge

Perhaps the most enduring myth about London Bridge’s transatlantic journey is the rumor that McCulloch was duped, thinking he had bought Tower Bridge—London’s much grander, Gothic-style bridge with the iconic twin towers.

But contrary to the persistent urban legend, he didn’t mistakenly believe he was purchasing the more iconic Tower Bridge. McCulloch knew exactly what he was buying—a piece of English history with worldwide recognition.

This story has been debunked repeatedly, most recently by his grandson. McCulloch was no fool; he understood the marketing potential of the name London Bridge, even if it wasn’t the most impressive bridge architecturally.

The misunderstanding likely stems from tourists visiting Lake Havasu and expecting to see Tower Bridge’s famous silhouette. But McCulloch’s genius lay in knowing that the name alone would attract attention—and attract it did.

A Bridge to Nowhere? Hardly.

Today, London Bridge remains one of Arizona’s most unusual attractions. Lake Havasu City, once a remote desert outpost, now thrives as a resort town with boating, water sports, and—of course—a historical bridge that just happens to sit in the middle of the desert. Tourists flock to see the bridge, wander beneath its arches, and snap pictures of this curious fusion of British history and American entrepreneurial spirit.

What McCulloch did was more than just buy a bridge—he created a legend, blending history, commerce, and a dash of the absurd. London Bridge, once a symbol of British engineering, has become a testament to American ingenuity and the power of reinvention.

From London to Lake Havasu: A Cultural Curiosity

The story of how London Bridge ended up in Arizona is part of American folklore now—a quirky chapter in the country’s obsession with going big or going home. In many ways, McCulloch’s purchase was the epitome of the American Dream: if you can’t bring people to the bridge, bring the bridge to the people. And if that bridge just happens to span a man-made waterway in a desert town with no business being there, all the better.

The man who bought London Bridge didn’t just acquire a piece of history—he turned it into something more. In the process, Robert P. McCulloch gave us a story that’s as bizarre as it is brilliant, a testament to the strange and wonderful things that can happen when you think outside the box—or in this case, outside the Thames.


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