People are only just realizing the London Bridge isn't in London

Tourists are lone conscionable realizing that London Bridge is not really spanning the River Thames successful England - it is sitting successful the Arizona desert.

The bizarre relocation of the iconic span to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, dates backmost much than fractional a period to 1968 erstwhile eccentric millionaire Robert McCulloch bought it for an eye-watering $2.46 cardinal - equivalent to astir $19 cardinal today.

It is present 1 of the astir celebrated landmarks successful the state. In 2018 alone, it drew a staggering 3.8 cardinal visitors successful 2018, beaten lone by the Grand Canyon.

The London span built successful 1831 was enactment up for merchantability successful 1967 due to the fact that it was excessively constrictive to header with progressively wide modern cars, buses and trucks.

It had besides been sinking by astir 1 inch each 4 years. Its factual replacement, which inactive stands today, opened successful 1973.

The thought to merchantability the landmark to an American came from erstwhile writer Ivan Luckin, who was past serving connected the assemblage liable for London's bridges.

There was besides precedent for specified a venture. 

Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst had bought respective aged European buildings and shipped them to his immense property successful the San Simeon, California.

Luckin had a income brochure printed and past went to find a buyer. 

In stepped chainsaw tycoon McCulloch, who was part-way done gathering a caller metropolis adjacent to Lake Havasu and looking to alteration his newly-acquired spot of Arizona godforsaken into a booming tourer destination.

He decided that the 140-year-old London Bridge would beryllium the cleanable showpiece operation to get radical and postulation to the land that helium had created by redirecting the Colorado River. 

In 1968, the businessman paid astir $2.4 cardinal for the bridge's stones, which weighed much than 30,000 tons.

Also purchased were the bridge's archetypal ornate lampposts, which had been made from melted-down cannons captured aft Britain's triumph implicit Napoleon astatine the Battle of Waterloo.

It took astir 3 years to dismantle and re-erect the bridge. 

Each chromatic that was shipped had to beryllium numbered truthful that it could beryllium accurately re-constructed erstwhile successful the US.

The stones were enactment onto a cargo vessel that sailed done the Panama Canal to Long Beach, California. They were past taken by motortruck to Lake Havasu City.

The bridge's instauration chromatic successful its caller destination was laid by Sir Gilbert Inglefield, the Lord Mayor of London, successful September 1968.

Amazingly, the span was built connected adust land, earlier soil was dug retired from underneath to make a mile-long transmission that was filled with water.

The task was overseen by British technologist Robert Beresford.

As elaborate successful 2013 publication 'London Bridge successful America' by Travis Elborough, immoderate of the stones were inactive pockmarked with shrapnel harm from the Second World War oregon etched with past graffiti.

After a caller substructure had been built, the archetypal stones were gradually incorporated into it.

Despite immoderate missteps wherever stones were enactment successful upside-down oregon successful the incorrect order, the completed span was the spitting representation of the archetypal mentation backmost successful Britain.

Once the span was completed, dynamite was utilized to capable the caller transmission beneath it with h2o from Lake Havasu.

In opposition to the soiled h2o of the Thames, a streak of wide bluish present ran beneath the bridge.

On a sweltering time successful October 1971, with temperatures hitting much than 105 degrees, the then-Lord Mayor of London, Sir Peter Stud, was contiguous arsenic the span was opened.

A immense parade filled with revelers successful fancy formal was determination to people the occasion.

They included a brace of Maid Marians, Puritans, cowboys and immoderate Dickensian chimney sweeps.

To commencement the festivities, which included a gala meal with chandeliers and suits of armor, a signaling of the chimes of Big Ben was used.

The adjacent day, the visitors from Britain were treated to a parachute show and a travel connected a miniature paddle steamer, earlier renditions of 'God Save the Queen' and the 'Star Spangled Banner' were played.

In a speech, the Lord Mayor hoped that the span would service arsenic a 'lasting monument' to the 'bonds of friendships and communal goodwill... betwixt the American and British people'.

The Lord Mayor past helped to merchandise a blistery aerial balloon into the sky. As it roseate into the air, the balloon pulled distant a portion of cloth that was covering a commemorative plaque.

Then, 'a transverse betwixt a Fourth of July parade and an occurrence of crippled amusement It's a Knockout' ensued until sunset, Elborough described successful his book.

There were Chemehuevi Native Americans successful afloat conflict dress, and Boy Scouts holding flags for each of the US's 50 states.

There were besides bicyclists riding penny-farthings and men dressed arsenic Yeomen of the Guard.

What mightiness person seemed similar a gimmick by McCulloch worked.

Within 3 years of the span re-opening, Lake Havasu was welcoming 3 cardinal visitors a year, galore of whom were drawn by the immense chunks of English past astatine its heart.

Today, the span is inactive a cardinal portion of Lake Havasu City, performing its intent admirably.

Each year, events and festivals are held connected and astir the bridge, portion respective 100 bats unrecorded successful its nooks and crannies.

Some wonderment whether oregon not specified a monolithic undertaking could adjacent instrumentality spot today.

'From a logistical, engineering and operation standpoint, it's wholly imaginable that it could hap contiguous and successful little clip than it did backmost then,' said Go Lake Havasu Director of Strategic Services Jason Castelucci to Stgeorgeutah.

'But the marketplace for deconstructed humanities monuments - if it adjacent exists contiguous - isn't wherever astir investors spell looking for a bully investment. So yes, it could hap contiguous but it would instrumentality visionaries similar McCullough and Wood to marque it happen.'

From a colonisation of conscionable a fewer 100 successful the aboriginal 1960s, Lake Havasu City has blossomed into a thriving assemblage of much than 57,000 residents today.

While the Federal Highway Administration has since deemed the span 'functionally obsolete,' the icon continues to beryllium a large gully for locals and visitors alike.