London Bridge is a replica?

[sirbob]

So I was looking up the London Bridge resort and saw this description:

Hotel details
Adjacent to a replica of the London Bridge and its shops in an English-style village, this lively resort on Lake Havasu is less than a mile from London Bridge Beach.

Traditional studios and 1- to 2-bedroom suites have kitchenettes, flat-screen TVs, DVD players and free Wi-Fi; some include sofabeds. Upgraded suites have balconies, and some offer rooftop patios.

A night club offers 21 bars, dance floors on 4 levels and a swimming pool. On-site restaurants include Mexican, Chinese and Italian options. There are also 3 pools, a waterslide, a day spa (fee), a 9-hole golf course (fee) and a marina, plus boat and Jet Ski rentals.


I always thought that was the actual bridge that's shipped from the UK?

 

[DILLIGAF]

So I was looking up the London Bridge resort and saw this description:

Hotel details
Adjacent to a replica of the London Bridge and its shops in an English-style village, this lively resort on Lake Havasu is less than a mile from London Bridge Beach.

Traditional studios and 1- to 2-bedroom suites have kitchenettes, flat-screen TVs, DVD players and free Wi-Fi; some include sofabeds. Upgraded suites have balconies, and some offer rooftop patios.

A night club offers 21 bars, dance floors on 4 levels and a swimming pool. On-site restaurants include Mexican, Chinese and Italian options. There are also 3 pools, a waterslide, a day spa (fee), a 9-hole golf course (fee) and a marina, plus boat and Jet Ski rentals.


I always thought that was the actual bridge that's shipped from the UK?

Me as well.....If it is the real deal that LBR is doing itself a dis-service calling it a replica

 

[Bigbore500r]

Sounds like the london bridge is actually new frame construction, and just clad with *most* of the original stones from the exterior of the original.

"New" London Bridge (1831–1967) [edit]

The Demolition of Old London Bridge, 1832, Guildhall Gallery, London.

New London Bridge in the late 19th century.
In 1799, a competition was opened to design a replacement for the medieval bridge. Entrants included Thomas Telford; he proposed a single iron arch span of 600 feet (180 m), with 65 feet (20 m) centre clearance beneath it for masted river traffic. His design was accepted as safe and practicable, following expert testimony.[21] Preliminary surveys and works were begun, but Telford's design required exceptionally wide approaches and the extensive use of multiple, steeply inclined planes, which would have required the purchase and demolition of valuable adjacent properties.[22] A more conventional design of five stone arches, by John Rennie, was chosen instead. It was built 100 feet (30 m) west (upstream) of the original site by Jolliffe and Banks of Merstham, Surrey,[23] under the supervision of Rennie's son. Work began in 1824 and the foundation stone was laid, in the southern coffer dam, on 15 June 1825.[citation needed]


Spare corbels for London bridge left behind at Swelltor Quarry on Dartmoor, Devon. They lie beside the former narrow gauge Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway.
The old bridge continued in use while the new bridge was being built, and was demolished after the latter opened in 1831. New approach roads had to be built, which cost three times as much as the bridge itself. The total costs, around £2.5 million (£208 million in 2016),[24] were shared by the British Government and the Corporation of London.

Rennie's bridge was 928 feet (283 m) long and 49 feet (15 m) wide, constructed from Haytor granite. 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.

In 1896 the bridge was the busiest point in London, and one of its most congested; 8,000 pedestrians and 900 vehicles crossed every hour.[16] It was widened by 13 feet (4.0 m), using granite corbels.[25] Subsequent surveys showed that the bridge was sinking an inch (about 2.5 cm) every eight years, and by 1924 the east side had sunk some three to four inches (about 9 cm) lower than the west side. The bridge would have to be removed and replaced.

Sale to Robert McCulloch[edit]
Main article: London Bridge (Lake Havasu City)

Rennie's "New" London Bridge during its reconstruction at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, March 1971.

Rennie's "New" London Bridge rebuilt, Lake Havasu City, 2003.
In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing." On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was purchased by the Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a newspaper interview.[26] As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was meticulously numbered. The blocks were then shipped via the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. The bridge was reconstructed by Sundt Construction at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on 10 October 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridge spans the Bridgewater Channel canal that leads from the Uptown area of Lake Havasu City and follows McCulloch Boulevard onto an island that has yet to be named.

The London Bridge that was rebuilt at Lake Havasu City consists of a frame with stones from Rennie's London Bridge used as cladding. The cladding stones used are 150 to 200 millimetres (6 to 8 inches) thick. Some of the stones from the bridge were left behind at Merrivale Quarry at Princetown in Devon.[27] When Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stones were sold in an online auction.[28]

 

[Cdog]

Its the real kinda. The bricks are a facia from my understanding. So yes & no.

 

[sirbob]

Based on the story above - I wouldn't call it a replica?

I don't think anybody would be surprised to hear they built it a little better the second time around - but I wonder who / why they would call it a replica?

 

[spectras only]

.You'd find a real replica once the chinese decided building their own city of Lake Havasu

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

The bridge is not a replica, it is just reimagined.

 

[Bigbore500r]

.You'd find a real replica once the chinese decided building their own city of Lake Havasu

Rake Havasu?

 

[pronstar]

...then why doesn’t anyone in Havasu speak with a British accent?


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[spectra3279]

I always heard it was not the London bridge, but one of the smaller bridges on the same road. He thought he was buying the London Bridge and this is what they gave him.

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[Bobby V]

I always heard it was not the London bridge, but one of the smaller bridges on the same road. He thought he was buying the London Bridge and this is what they gave him.

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Same Thames River, not road.

 

[rvrrun]

I always heard it was not the London bridge, but one of the smaller bridges on the same road. He thought he was buying the London Bridge and this is what they gave him.

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He thought he was buying the tower bridge (allegedly), he got London bridge.

 

[spectra3279]

He thought he was buying the tower bridge (allegedly), he got London bridge.

Makes sense

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[HB2Havasu]

I never really thought about it, but the Island doesn’t really have a name?

 

[UAV.Pilot]

T

...then why doesn’t anyone in Havasu speak with a British accent?


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The guy at London Bridge Fire Arms speaks with a British accent...

I’ve heard this story for years, Mr McCulloch was no dummy! He knew exactly what he was doing...his vision is our home...

 

[sirbob]

I always heard it was not the London bridge, but one of the smaller bridges on the same road. He thought he was buying the London Bridge and this is what they gave him.

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He thought he was buying the tower bridge (allegedly), he got London bridge.

This is addressed in the article posted above - its false.

n 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing." On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was purchased by the Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a newspaper interview.[26] As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was meticulously numbered. The blocks were then shipped via the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. The bridge was reconstructed by Sundt Construction at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on 10 October 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridgespans the Bridgewater Channel canal that leads from the Uptown area of Lake Havasu City and follows McCulloch Boulevard onto an island that has yet to be named.

The London Bridge that was rebuilt at Lake Havasu City consists of a frame with stones from Rennie's London Bridge used as cladding. The cladding stones used are 150 to 200 millimetres (6 to 8 inches) thick. Some of the stones from the bridge were left behind at Merrivale Quarry at Princetown in Devon.[27] When Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stones were sold in an online auction.[28]

 

[milkmoney]

He thought he was buying the tower bridge (allegedly), he got London bridge.

I seen the tower bridge, two different bridges. Somebody got taken [emoji4] [emoji202]

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[rvrrun]

I seen the tower bridge, two different bridges. Somebody got taken [emoji4] [emoji202]

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It gets mistaken for tower bridge a lot.

 

[rvrrun]

This is addressed in the article posted above - its false.

n 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing." On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was purchased by the Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a newspaper interview.[26] As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was meticulously numbered. The blocks were then shipped via the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. The bridge was reconstructed by Sundt Construction at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on 10 October 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridgespans the Bridgewater Channel canal that leads from the Uptown area of Lake Havasu City and follows McCulloch Boulevard onto an island that has yet to be named.

The London Bridge that was rebuilt at Lake Havasu City consists of a frame with stones from Rennie's London Bridge used as cladding. The cladding stones used are 150 to 200 millimetres (6 to 8 inches) thick. Some of the stones from the bridge were left behind at Merrivale Quarry at Princetown in Devon.[27] When Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stones were sold in an online auction.[28]

That's why I said "allegedly". One politician disputed the claim, who knows what McCullochs feeling was.

 

[McRib]

The term London bridge dates back alot of years. The current one in havasu is a late 1800s version.

 

[Tank]

I still remember as a kid being able to read all the number markings on the stones they used to put that thing back together.


You look at all those old pics of the bridge in England and I just think to myself....Damn, who would'a thunk, a century later there'd be all them boats reving their engines under that bridge?

 

[Rvrluvr]

Its the real bridge. They rebuild it in a different way. They built a hollow structure and lined it with the real blocks. The leftover blocks were then sold to use as headstones and other various uses. He recouped his bridge purchase money by selling the extra stones. Basically got the bridge for free.

Other fun facts.
The English drive on the left hind side of the road because of the London Bridge. Back in the day the great amount of foot traffic on the bridge was blocking the "new" way of travel. The Automobile. They came up with the rule....cars on the left, pedestrians on the right.

The pollution was so bad in England the bridge was turning black. You can still see some of the blocks on the bridge to this day that are dark color (look at the ones that don't get much sun). The desert heat and sun have "bleached" out the black residue and returned the blocks to a brighter color.

 

[BlownSleek]

I never really thought about it, but the Island doesn’t really have a name?

It wasn't a island, It was a peninsula they pit the bridge in line with the base of it and dredged a channel under it making it a island. I wonder if the military named that peninsula that they had their sir strip on? Also aligned with the bridge....

 

[highvoltagehands]

Based on the story above - I wouldn't call it a replica?

I don't think anybody would be surprised to hear they built it a little better the second time around - but I wonder who / why they would call it a replica?

Well Sir, IMO it has a great storied history, but its still a replica. Kinda like if you rough framed a new replica of Winchester Mystery House, then pulled all the siding off the original WMH and reinstalled it on the new replica, wouldn't it lose it's mystery and just be known the Winchester Replica House?

 

[sirbob]

I guess I see the soul of the bridge as being kept alive by what ever means - not as a replica, but keep patching the old one to keep it going-

 

[highvoltagehands]

I guess I see the soul of the bridge as being kept alive by what ever means - not as a replica, but keep patching the old one to keep it going-

Allright. I like that thinking.

 

[westair]

Extra blocks from the bridge on McCullough ..... so far no one can pick one up and carry it away ....lol

 

[FreeBird236]

It's old enough to have real bullet holes.