IndianaRog
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London Bridge Found....My son is visiting Lake Havasu City in Arizona today and snapped this picture...I've never seen a pic of the bridge in it's new home, but here it is.
cheers,
Rog
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toxx
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... that's a great picture!  I'm glad the bridge wasn't demolished, but found a new home in America.
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MTA
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| toxx wrote: | | ... that's a great picture! I'm glad the bridge wasn't demolished, but found a new home in America. |
It wasn't going to be demolished, the story goes thus:
Someone in America, when they saw Tower Bridge (after it had just been finished) for the first time wanted it and liked it so much he approached the powers that be to buy London Bridge, as he thought it was named.
The powers that be couldn't turn down the offer, so you can imagine the guy's dismay when he realised he bought the wrong bridge 
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Sandman
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I've had lunch there Rog.
It's a beautiful place. We stopped there when we were driving from Vegas to L.A.
Jeez that brings back memories. 
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toxx
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... ooopps!  But it's beautiful, anyway!
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Mamodman123
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It was sinking into the Thames before we replaced it
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rangerssteamtoys
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Its a cool bridge, on whatever side of the pond.
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Atticman
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Do you get from anywhere to anywhere by crossing it now, or is it more for decoration
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IndianaRog
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I believe the water you see in the picture is Lake Havasu, a lake dividing California and Arizona. I think it was built over a narrow part of the lake so in a sense it will get you from one side of the lake to the other. Mostly it's a tourist attraction however. I didn't know it was gradually sinking into the Thames...if so, it got a new lease on life and is admired by lots of people who would never have seen it otherwise.
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johnreid
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Every thing I remember reading said that the bridge was to be demolished if not sold so when the US Developer bought it, the citizens of London were saved some of the expense that would have come from demolition and thus made the replacement more easily paid for.
The story about the Tower Bridge is actually a myth, as the sale involved engineering etc. I dont think that ANY developer, British or American, would buy that bridge without even seeing a photo or Engineering drawings.
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tmuir
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| johnreid wrote: |
The story about the Tower Bridge is actually a myth, as the sale involved engineering etc. I dont think that ANY developer, British or American, would buy that bridge without even seeing a photo or Engineering drawings. |
But you've got to admit the myth makes it pretty damm funny.
Wonder if someone in the US would want to buy Londons Milenium bridge as that had to be closed shortly after being opened to be strengthened as it was discovered that the average gate that people walk at when crossing the bridge is the exact resonate frequency of the bridge so just by lots of people walking over it, it wobbled so much that it was in danger of falling down until it was strengthened.
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johnreid
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NO, but I have this bridge in Brooklyn that I would love to sell you 
I know that the bridge is/was a sore point with many who do/did not like the bridge going to the States, but as said before, it actually saved the citizens of London some money.
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Stilldrillin
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Thanks for the pic, Rog!
We walked hand in hand across that bridge, during our honeymoon, in 1969....... 
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toxx
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... selling England by the Pound!
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CCairns
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I wonder how many people worldwide used to sing the Children's nursery rhyme -
London Bridge Is falling down,
Falling down, Falling down.
London Bridge Is falling down,
My fair lady.
The meaning of this rhyme is uncertain, but is not to do with the London Bridge featured here.
Some interesting facts from wikipedia on this bridge.
| Quote: | Rennie's bridge had a length of 928 feet (283 m) and a width of 49 feet (15 m). Haytor granite was used in the construction, transported via the unique Haytor Granite Tramway. The official opening took place on 1 August 1831; King William IV and Queen Adelaide attended a banquet in a pavilion erected on the bridge. The recently constructed HMS Beagle was the first ship to pass under it. It was widened in 1902–4 from 52 to 65 feet (16 to 20 m) in an attempt to combat London's chronic traffic congestion. A dozen of the granite "pillars" quarried & dressed for this widening, but unused, still lie near Swelltor Quarry on the disused railway track a couple of miles south of Princetown on Dartmoor. Unfortunately, this widening work proved too much for the bridge's foundations; it was subsequently discovered that the bridge was sinking an inch every eight years (3 cm every 10 years). By 1924, the east side of the bridge was some three to four inches lower than the west side; it soon became apparent that this bridge would have to be removed and replaced with a more modern one.
On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was sold to the American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. A popular urban legend is that he believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge, although McCulloch denied this. As the bridge was disassembled, each piece was numbered to aid reassembly and those markings can still be seen today. The bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona and re-dedicated on October 10, 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridge spans a man-made canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centrepiece of a theme park in English style, complete with mock-Tudor shopping mall. Rennie's London Bridge has become Arizona's second-biggest tourist attraction, after the Grand Canyon.
The version of London Bridge that was rebuilt at Lake Havasu consists of a concrete frame with stones from the Old London Bridge used as cladding. Not all of the bridge was transported to America, as some was kept behind in lieu of tax duties. The remaining stone was left at Merrivale Quarry on Dartmoor in Devon, so a large part of Rennie's bridge never left the UK. When Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stones were sold in an online auction. |
So it is not the real bridge, but a stone clad concrete frame. Still it gets 2nd place after the Grand Canyon. Not bad for something that was not originally American.
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johnreid
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Not bad, the Brits sell the American a bridge but then get to keep most of it and still get paid!
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Les
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| johnreid wrote: | | Not bad, the Brits sell the American a bridge but then get to keep most of it and still get paid! |
We are not daft really.
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