The audacious real estate gamble that moved a London landmark to the Arizona desert

Cultures · Published 1 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1968, a massive stone bridge was purchased from London and transported across the Atlantic. This wasn't a mistake or a confusion with Tower Bridge, but a calculated marketing masterstroke designed to turn a remote, arid patch of Arizona into a global tourist destination.

In the mid-1960s, Robert P. McCulloch, the entrepreneur behind Lake Havasu City, faced a significant marketing hurdle. His planned community in Arizona was geographically isolated and characterized by a harsh, arid climate, making it difficult to attract prospective land buyers. The solution came from his real estate agent, Robert Plumer, who identified the London Bridge as being for sale in the United Kingdom.

The acquisition was a massive undertaking. McCulloch purchased the bridge for £1.02 million, which was approximately $2.46 million at the time. While a popular myth suggests the purchase was a mistake—that the buyer intended to acquire the more famous Tower Bridge—both McCulloch and the sale arranger, Ivan Luckin, vehemently denied this. The plan was to use the bridge's prestige to draw interest to the desert.

The logistics of the move were equally complex. The bridge was not moved in its entirety; only the exterior granite masonry was transported. The stones were catalogued, removed, and sliced down by 15 to 20 cm in a Devon quarry to facilitate transport. To save costs, Plumer negotiated with a shipping company to carry the stones as cargo on a voyage that was otherwise empty, sailing through the Panama Canal to Long Beach, California.

The reconstruction in Arizona utilized a new reinforced concrete structure clad in the original 1830s masonry. Completed in 1971, the project also involved dredging the Bridgewater Channel Canal to separate the Pittsburgh Point peninsula from the mainland, effectively turning the area into an island. The venture proved financially successful, as the increase in land sales allowed McCulloch to recoup all expenses related to the bridge's purchase and shipping.

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