With history of the first “London Bridge” being built in 43 A.D. and the history of all succeeding bridges you will want to plan your Arizona tourism adventure to include a stop at the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The bridge built in 43 A.D. is long gone but the stories of the affect the bridges had on the people of London live on. It was even used as a place for drowning witches in 984 A.D.
In the year 1176 the first stone bridge was built. As was most common at the time, men of the cloth were taught the art of building arch structures out of stone in the Monastic Orders and so the bridge was constructed using these principles. The new bridge took 33 years to build. When finally completed in 1209 the bridge was solid enough to last 600 years. The road that crossed the bridge was 20 feet wide and 300 yards long supported by 20 arches which curved to a Gothic-style point. Part of the bridge was constructed of wood to accommodate the drawbridge to let ships in and keep invaders out.
Not only was the bridge used for traffic but with the flow of the water being captured to some extent, the water was directed to turn water wheels. The arches provided a perfect setting for this use. The water wheels were first used for grinding grain and, in 1580, to pump water into the city.
Because the bridge was so well constructed people thought it would be a great place to build their houses and shops. It wasn’t long before the entire bridge was covered with buildings. A disaster occurred in 1212 when a crowd of people were trapped on the London Bridge between two fires. The fire caused the death of many of these people.
One of the less charming stories of the London Bridge is how the Stone Gate House was used. The Stone Gate House was on the bridge and had poles on the roof where traitors’ heads were placed for everyone to see. This practice began in 1304 and was still being done 350 years later when Oliver Cromwell’s head was placed on one of the poles.
The London Bridge in Arizona sitting now in Lake Havasu City was built was constructed between 1902 and 1904 when the existing bridge was widened to handle the traffic load. It was determined in 1962 that the bridge was in such disrepair that it needed to be replaced. This is when the city of London decided to put the existing bridge up for sale.
Your Arizona Tourism adventure at the London Bridge will give you the history of the winning bid by Robert P. McCullock who submitted the winning bid for the bridge. The cost was $2,460,000 in 1968. It cost another $7 million to move the London Bridge to Lake Havasu City over a period of 3 years. It now waits for you to come and enjoy the history and the view.
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