The popular urban legend that an American businessman once mistakenly purchased Tower Bridge instead of London Bridge has been debunked by the grandson of the original buyer. In 1968, Robert McCulloch bought the Victorian London Bridge and moved its exterior blocks to Lake Havasu in Arizona to help develop the town, but rumours persist to this day that he made a blundering mistake. However, Michael McCulloch reiterated that his grandfather knew what he was buying all along and that the story of the mix-up provided free publicity for the project.
Despite being “vehemently denied” at the time the sale took place, the idea of the mix-up has endured, according to the Tower Bridge website. In reality, each of the 10,276 exterior granite blocks of the bridge were numbered on sale and shipped to the US. Queen Elizabeth II opened the new bridge constructed from the reclaimed Victorian blocks in 1973.
During a visit to London to receive the Freedom of the City of London by the City of London Corporation, the Mayor of Lake Havasu City, Cal Sheehy, said that the bridge had played a vital role in the town’s development and was now Arizona’s second biggest tourist attraction.
McCulloch added that the bridge had a strong connection to his family, and its story played a significant part in his life. Speaking of his visit to London to see the bridge, he said “I feel a real connection with the place and whenever anyone asks me my favourite city, I always say London.”
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