When the famous London Bridge was “falling down” during World War II, what the catchy nursery rhyme forgot to say what happened to it afterwards. In 1968, the remnants of the first London Bridge was dismantled and brought back, stone by stone, to a fledgling community by Lake Havasu in Western Arizona.
The city of Lake Havasu first started out as a rest camp for World War II Army Air Corps along the shores of Lake Havasu. After the war, American businessman Robert P. McCulloch purchased 3,500 acres along the eastern side of Lake Havasu, originally intending to transform the peninsula into an island of sorts. In 1964, Lake Havasu City was established, using remnants from an early 20th century mining town for the present city’s foundations.
Next to the Grand Canyon, the London Bridge of Lake Havasu City, Arizona is the second most popular attraction in all of Arizona. To add to the bridge’s English feel to it, you can find an “English Village” complete with Tudor-style buildings located just beneath the bridge. Spanning across Colorado River’s Lake Havasu to Thompson Bay, the London Bridge stretches out for 930 feet long.
For university students however, Lake Havasu City isn’t just “that place where one can cross the London Bridge”. By the time Spring Break rolls around, the community is flooded with the armies of party-hearty college students who hang out by the lake’s shores by day and dance the night away in clubs once night falls.
Lake Havasu City doesn’t just attract the young. Starting from March until September, boaters and vacationing families trek to Lake Havasu City to experience its clear waters, beautiful scenery, and small town hospitality. There are plenty of things to do in Lake Havasu City like swimming, water skiing, fishing, and boating. When the winter season hits, visitors and retirees coming from the colder regions head for Lake Havasu to enjoy its milder winter weather.