The American who bought London Bridge - BBC News
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- čas přidán 24. 09. 2018
- US businessman Robert P McCulloch bought London Bridge 50 years ago and moved it to the desert in Arizona. But why did he do it and what happened?
The amazing story of how a Victorian bridge from London was shipped across the world and rebuilt in America.
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In the '50s, my grandparents drove over this bridge in London. Then in the '70s when they moved to the states, they drove over the bridge on Lake Havasau.
That’s sick af
Wow, that is amazing. I'm in Havasu all the time. I knew a little bit about the story but nothing like I know now after watching this.
The granite used to build this bridge is from a quarry called Haytor in Dartmoor, Devon. Granite was put on horse and carriage and transported down through Dartmoor, along what’s called Templer Way, down to Stover Canal, Newton Abbot and then put on a barge and taken along the river and up to London along the English coast where it was then used to construct the bridge in London. Safe the say the granite has travelled far. The quarry closed in 1858. Source: I live in Newton Abbot, and have walked the same route as the granite took all those years ago, several times. The Templer Way walk is 18 miles from the quarry to the Stover Canal
I'm also English born 1943 though living in Australia, I knew nothing of the history you speak of; thank you for posting. :)
Want to see a piece of WWII history? Walk across the same bridge that Winston Churchill crossed numerous times? See the damage caused during the German bombing raids? Great! Come visit the Arizona desert!
Wait... WHAT?!?
D Hawthorne it was falling down and needed replacing. Better to sell it to some fool and let them pay the demolition and disposal costs. There are still plenty of historic bridges left in London, many of which Churchill would have crossed many more times than this one.
just because it's in a different location, doesn't mean it's less historical. this movement is apart of its history. @Spencer Wilton and somebody appreciating history isn't a fool. he cares about the very historical bridge built stone by stone in london all those centuries ago. it's the same bridge no matter where it is. if you want to be in london, there's a new bridge there having its own course of history. but for those wanting to see the original one, it's being taken care of in america. (where londonistan can't terrorize it)
DLC ENERGY It's a nice bridge, I grant you, and I'm glad it was saved. However it's not centuries old, it was only just over 100 years old when it was demolished and moved. It is certainly not the original London Bridge, just one of several So named that have stood in or near that same spot. The previous bridge stood for several hundred years, and before that there were wooden bridges which no doubt were replaced more frequently. Yes, London has suffered terrorist attacks, but add them all together and we have still had only a tiny fraction of the fatalities the USA suffered on one day - 9/11.
Spencer Wilton the old broom thing ey. lol we've had this broom in the family for generations. it's had 5 brushes, and 7 handles. xD
also about londonistan. higher crime rate then nyc. and no guns. lol but it's no good making comparisons. especially towards more attacks on western society. lol that's just adding to the fire. thanks ;)
Really? Did you just pull that figure out of nowhere? In the entire history of London, less than 3000 people died from terrorism? I'd love to see how you figured that one out.
Lake Havasu City is a charming oasis for travelers. The original London Bridge is absolutely cherished.
Susan Diane Howell You realise of course that this is not the original bridge? There have been multiple crossings known as London Bridge, the most famous being the medieval London Bridge, immortalised in the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is falling down". That was the many arched bridge with houses and even a church built on top. It was replaced with the Arizona London Bridge in Victorian times, and subsequently replaced again in the 1960's.
@@spencerwilton5831 this is one of the most famous, so much history. Survived the war
@@spencerwilton5831 it's not the "original" bridge, but it's the Victorian/World Wars bridge so how the fuck is that not better lol
@@highviewbarbell it only matters in that it is NOT the "London Bridge" in the song. The bridge (in this video) was built in 1831- The song was published in 1744. The grandson? is either clueless or a liar...if it was the bridge built in 1176 - thatd be impressive.
I remember hearing about this as a child. I was born in London in 1970. I am so glad the CZcams algorithm suggested this to be because I really had heard only one side of the story. I know it sounds ridiculous, it's just a bridge, but I'm was happy to hear this bridge is still 'alive' and doing well :)
Thank you BBC News for this incredible piece on our beloved bridge!
The cars are driving on the wrong side of the road on that bridge.
Not in the UK there not.
Yeah, they should build ramps on both sides that twist the road around.
@laser325 bruh its a joke
@laser325 :) mans stupid
Classic.... lol
I’m English and to this has made me smile what better country to have are bridge.... and see how much you all love it ....
Haha not only did we take your colonies we also took your bridge 😂
@@Tyler_Owen23 You took India?
*Very nice bridge,* and very crazy that it had to be transported over an ocean, instead of building an exact copy with local stone. Rich people can be crazy sometimes.
Perhaps there were distant relatives of the family tree inside the structure that couldn’t be shipped any other way, but then perhaps they (the people inside the structure) were full of diamonds.
i guess that destroys the point of something being truly historical or significant to someone or something. but money makes the world go around as they say
laser325 most of those of England, who are part of churches, are seldom English.
laser325 ?
laser325 would clear the air?
I've heard about this man who purchased the London Bridge and brought it to a desert in Arizona since it happened, (yes I'm that old !) What a great thing he did, saving a piece of history and protecting it for the future while giving joy in the present. I love the idea of saving old things of great value.
I want to go to London anyway. We have family there I don't even know. The "Cooke" family was from there. They dropped the e on our name due to a birth certificate. Lol.
I have always wanted to see the original London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It is often believed that the Americans thought that they were buying Tower Bridge, and instead they bought London Bridge (not knowing that London Bridge wasn't Tower Bridge), although this is only myth. The Americans did know that they were buying London Bridge. Selling Tower Bridge would have been like selling The Eiffel Tower or The Statue of Liberty to another country, as Tower Bridge is one of most famous landmarks in the world.
Are you British?
Yes.
@@filmsforallnations nice do you like the USA and Americans?
Yes. I think that America is the greatest country in the world!
@@filmsforallnations my fiancé and twin daughters are British. Lived in the UK for about 5 years back in the states was in Salisbury in Wiltshire 🇬🇧🤝🇺🇸
Amazing!! That’s a beautiful architecture!!!
Nice vid. I remember hearing about this in a pejorative way, but the lady speaking at the end is right. What a remarkable feat it was to rebuild a bridge so far away from its original site, where it of course stands today. The naysayers couldn't do it. They wouldn't know where to start.
There are very few with vision of that order. :)
Very nice bridge history!
I've never heard about this before, very interesting, thank you :)
Woww! The logistics is amazing!
Mr McCulloch was a far sighted entrepreneur, very cleverly brought interest to Lake Havasau area which hopefully will grow from interest in the historic moving of this wonderful edifice from London to Arizona.
The skill of the dismantlers and the wonderful abilities of the American builders is there for all to see and enjoy.
Great documentary, thanks for this and the wonderful Folks of Lake Havasau.
A historical modern marvel. How incredible! Puts a tear in your!
It doesn't matter. I have an engraving of the original London Bridge that was stacked with housing, turrets, shops , spires and arches. They only sold off the modernized one. Shakespere's Bridge was a road like any other. What a fantastic feat and fleet of the imagination such vast construction
Beautiful
خلااااص انشاء الله تنحل المشكلة وترجعو مثل قبل واحسن 💗😿
First the thumbnail is wrong, the picture is of tower bridge, clearly used as click bait well done BBC always great news of the now and then, the london bridge that we have now is the new one that was built after the other one was dismantled and taken to arizona.
what's click bait?
@UCVjc9N3uEQuRe-maLE49lDg Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCullochof 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.
Yeah you buy a 2.4 million bridge and you dont even get shown a picture of what it looks like.
Is click bait because even a 2 second rumour gets bearly spoken about it.
By well known you mean like when fergie sings London bridge and stand on Tower bridge? Is not well known that why alot of people are confused as you can see by the comments.
Lee Morris False Advertising; Where images are put in the advertising of the video to fool you into clicking an article, that have nothing to do with the article. Just goes to show how low the BBC are getting, thank god we don't need a TV license anymore.
Draylynn Taylor or road tax now that we have electric cars.
Lee Morris Don't be naive to think that just because the cars electric it has no emissions or very low emissions; Where do you think that energy comes from? Road tax should apply to all vehicles that have any emissions at any point throughout the fuel creation process.
Never knew about the bullet holes on it. Seen it daily lol.
The current London bridge is an architectural monstrosity.
The islamic one?
Very much of it's time, concrete and boring. Very much like eye sore that is the Westway.
FYI Bridges are made out of building materials, not religions.
@@visorm6789 You idiot
Just like the twin towers...oops !!!
Watching this in 2021 the 50th anniversary of the opening of London Bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona USA.
"Papa's got a bridge!"
A lot of effort from the quarry through to the stonemasons work deserving of great respect went into building the bridge in the first place, so many beautiful constructions are simply swept away becoming rubble. Here we have cause to pause and think, and wonder that an American with such a vision bought it and utilised it in such a way. People with vision of that order are rare.
A true visionary for sure.
my grand parents were part of the flying in, bought property........my parents and i moved here in 1979.....i still live here, it isnt even recognizable to then
wow, I had heard of lake Havasu, but I never knew it had the actual London Bridge
Only the façade is from London, the bridge structure is local.
it is NOT the bridge from the song
This was not what I thought it would be. Interesting story though. And a beautiful bridge!
I remember when I was a kid in the late 70's you could clearly see all the numbers on every stone.
Looks nice
now this shows how people plan ahead when u plan something some people think your crazy or lost your mind but when u success they will see what u seen from a long time ago now yes this looks crazy but the result is amazing
I've been to the London Bridge in Lake Havasu Arizona
Forward thinking at its best, he was planning for something he knew he wouldn't be around to see or benefit from and did it anyway
Was this the bridge near Borough Market...?
Certainly was, market is on the south side, my grandad had a veg stall in there.
Think of the amount of free publicity this garnered for Havasu. Money well-spent.
but it is NOT the "London Bridge" in the song. The bridge (in this video) was built in 1831- The song was published in 1744. This bridge was built along side the Medieval stone arch (1176-1832)."London Bridge". This bridge is as much the "London Bridge" from the song as is the current London Bridge, built in 1967.
How mad does a Londoner have to be that they start making false claims on the bridge they hold dear, but was subsequently bought from them? just read the damn comments.
I don't think Londoners really cared about this fairly ordinary bridge. If they removed Tower Bridge on the other hand (or even the most famous, older London Bridge), I'm sure they'd have been annoyed about that.
I always thought it wrong to have sold it
I just got back from Lake Havasu
Here I wanted to visit London to see this and it's here😅
Sweet I’ll buy the shard for 10 kwid and 99 pe bruv
They moved a bridge lol.. more like dug one out of the mudflood and came up with a cover story.
Hu Arwe bingo. Not one photo of them building it.
@@jestinrobinson5115 yep total bs like most of our history.
@@andrewelder3061 looks like a bridge being unearthed.
Hu Arwe it was A peninsula and they built the bridge from the top to the bottom so that’s basically the build picture they dug it out once they finish
It’s hard to understand until you talk to the workers
@@andrewelder3061 haha I spoke to one of Santa's helpers yesterday, he was complaining about working conditions.
song at 1:12 anyone?
When I win the lottery I'm buying the bridge and moving it back to the UK. 🤣
The difference between being know in history as a Visionary or a Lunatic often depends on the outcome of the endeavor.
The first families from Europe who committed to settling the American continent were likely regarded by many as Lunatics, but history has shown them to be Visionaries. Well done, Mr. McCulloch for seeing what others could not acting upon that vision.
They have an 'English Village' near the bridge. A fish and chip shop and a red telephone box really make it English. But the biggest faux-pas is that it's bathed in sunshine, so completely inaccurate, ha ha!
The version i had been told was that he thought tower bridge was London bridge and was furious when he found. This is a much better outcome. Like we say about our former colonies "look after it, we may want it back sometime".
Great story, but not true.
People must be crazy to believe this fairy-tail. There is not a single picture during construction, only pictures of what looks like completed bridge being unearthed. and allegedly, it all happened in the 70s.
Big Ben would look great in the Arizona desert!
It would actually look better in Flagstaff in my opinion.
The London Bridge from the song? Well, no, not really. When that song was first thought up it was about a previous bridge on the same site, right?
Yes, it was the medieval London Bridge (which this one replaced) that was falling down.
Havasu needs something to spice up the island.
Just let Arizona mail you the entire Grand Canyon, or would you like it via carrier pigeon?
Incredible story, and it worked? Seems like a legitimate business model then. I wonder why this idea hasn't been repeated, or has it?
what u saying? someone bought second hand pyramids and built them in egypt second location. i wonder where they were from first.
i thought he bought London bridge thinking he had bought tower bridge
No that is just another arrogant fable made up by the British
Yep, urban myth. He knew exactly what he was buying
More people like that in the world....
♥️
8:13 This lady's voice! 😂
Chinese... Japanese... The Germans.... Wow so many diverse groups
Why are there bullet holes in it from ww2? it doesn’t make sense, what would they be shooting at?
@jonlevi
I lived in Havasu for 3 1/2 years. The bridge is as amazing as they make it look and sound. It's beautiful and kind of haunting at night if you go under it.
Love havasu so much but had to move out. The heat fries people's brains. Thats why there's so many Republicans there 😂
It’s time to repeat the story :-)
So there are two American landmarks that were built in a European capital and brought there piece by piece: this bridge from London and that lady statue from Paris now sitting in New York
To be fair though, America is still only a country in its infancy.
And that big, long hole in the ground in Arizona that was in the Clark Griswald movie, that was originally in southern Spain before a yank spotted it. Spain just has land now where that hole used to be.
Bullet marks from World War Two? I dont remember any German soldiers setting foot in London during the war :-D
From the Luftwaffe perhaps, as in bullets fired from aeroplanes. But I’ve not heard of it.
so its true
I see bs.. you have solid cement sidewalks.
No way to move it
Scavengers of history.
The first brick making machine invented in 1855... and these blocks are pilfered and reused because we cannot create them
They should be driving on the left. London bridge is literally where it was decided back in the 16th century.
Tweet Protocol there’s already a enough idiots from California turning into the wrong lane as it is
In these down
The Indian. Who bought East India company
Must show a documentary on this
Granite Bridge lasts forever.
It was a bridge near London not THE London Bridge.
6th I that was London Bridge
I think you will find that London Bridge, is still in London. It’s where Islamic extremists ran over people with a van, not long ago.
6th I yeah, they rebuilt a new one four years after. A,so wasn't that Westminster Bridge?
They demolished the old london bridge and built a new one.. Also the bridge where the terrorist attack happened was Westminster bridge.
Vinh Vu London Bridge. It’s a national landmark. Apparently the American bought Tower Bridge.
www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1262562/Tower-Bridge-sold-America-130million-billionaire-buys-right-bridge-time.html
Here, they call him “a batty American” who may have been conned.
www.citymetric.com/skylines/was-american-really-conned-buying-wrong-london-bridge-1162
اوك
إنشاء الله تتصالحو
بدك شي ثاني
@يـَليـنا يـيَـغـر باااي
لفيوووو
This bridge is haunted.
Re 8:00 It's funny when I walk across the "new" London bridge here in London now all I can hear are foreign languages from all over the world (hardly ever English or even cockney ! ) but the difference is these people are not tourists most of them are illegal immigrants and actually live here..
Wye aye man, its not the Newport Transporter though is it!
That went to Marble Canyon! Oz took it!
Why would there be bullets from WW2 on the side of the bridge? There weren't any ground combat battles in London were there?
Plans and boats in those days had guns
London Blitz
@@TheLewisLegend ahh ok, so like when the british were trying to shoot down the Luftwaffe over London?
Robin E yes exactly
@@treemanlee07 what's a crout bomb?
I can say most of London bridge are just bridge only tower bridge and albert bridge and hammersmith bridge and chelsea bridge are nice iconic bridge if I where a mayor of London I will make all Londons bridge are nice and iconic
Making what people will believe if you say it enough times. The Lake Havasu bridge was already there, buried in the mud, and was built by the Tartarian empire that has been erased from history.
Tartaria never made it to Arizona.
Kingdom of italy Tartarians or Moors, somebody built it long ago. Certainly wasn't from London, what a completely ridiculous story.
@@sageoz9886 Moores didn't make it to Arizona either. why would anyone build a bridge such as that just to reach a small island on the Colorado River? Infact, no tribes in Arizona would have the resources necessary to build a bridge, let alone a bridge with a medival design.
Kingdom of italy History is full of lies. The biggest is that the entire world was covered in an advanced society that was wiped out by cataclysm; that our infrastructures and many of our buildings were renovated and repurposed from the remains. The United States is covered in clues, just like everywhere else.
Check out some Jon Levi, Michelle Gibson, and Wooden Nickles are all great channels to start with leaning about Starforts, Mudflood, and reset history
czcams.com/video/w5FcretlpTc/video.html
They should disassemble the HMS Queen Mary in Long Beach and move it there as well.
is it true human remains was found in the foundations
I think they brought it so they could take it to America and study how bridges are made. Now they have lots of bridges.
Lol. Many, many bridges have been built prior to bringing this over the pond! Many did get built in Europe though in the early 1800’s. However, the first bridge that was built in America was in 1697...the Frankfort Ave. Bridge in Pennsylvania. 🌉
Ever hear of the Golden Gate Bridge, circa 1930s?
The Brooklyn Bridge, circa 1883?
Lucky Louise Cool. Have heard of the Brooklyn Bridge. But, Unless they thought this one was made better than theirs.
You can’t be that dumb
Really toxic comments section on this otherwise nice video.
London Bridges Falling down falling down falling down...who'd buy a defective bridge? BTW, what a bunch of funny names these people have.
Yes, American names are funny.
@@owenshebbeare2999 just like English accents are funny.. /dorky
I feel like we're talking about diffrent bridges I'm thinking of the one in London England
Bullets from WW2. On American soil? They really are crazy.
Why? We had Nazi’s and Italian soldiers in war camps all over the country. In fact, one in Illinois!
@@luckylouise6762 you had EIGHT Nazis.
More likely shrapnel damage from crout bombing raids...I still find the stuff today when working in London.
# There were German POW camps in Georgia and Arizona.
@@cheezindashower No Germans set foot on British soil either. We got blitzed, not invaded.
He thought he was buying the Tower Bridge.
Kay Em No, he did not, that's a popular myth and has been proven incorrect multiple times, not least of all in this film. He knew exactly what he was buying.
@@spencerwilton5831 That makes it worse, because what he was buying had little to do with the original London Bridge, which had buildings on it.
Kay Em my father owned a export packing and shipping company, that was involved in the packing of London Bridge components for shipping. Halfway through the process he received a telex from America “when are the towers going to arrive?” They thought they had bought tower bridge.
The most amazing thing about this story is that anyone believes it. You have 2 pics of some blocks which could be anywhere and then the fully constructed bridge. Anyone got any evidence of this not being a cover story?
such a bogus story
why are they lying... anyways ...
Why are you mad?
Not buying the lie. Looks like a mud flood problem to me when I looked at the photos. There should have been a huge gallery of shots showing the reconstruction but there isn't one. Obviously the controllers didn't have a way to hide the fact that this architecture could be found in other places and sought to have it destroyed. Then they concocted this story of buying the London Bridge. Folks, don't buy the deception. Put on your thinking caps and realize it is impossible to take apart a bridge that had been REINFORCED without destroying it.
They had to re pour the reenforcing concrete it was only the outer granite facade and ornamental prices and the steps that were re assembled. You are correct.
The only crazy person is that old woman
james taylor how
And we have now a shit bridge
U! S! A! 🇺🇸 U! S! A! 🇺🇸 U! S! A!
WELL DONE!!!
Lol I bet you Brits where a little confused about it 😂😂
Confused about a bridge that was going to be demolished, being taken somewhere else? Impressive maybe, but not particularly confusing.
People in England still laugh about this, as its told he actually thought he was getting tower bridge, but got them mixed up.
Aye, that's an urban myth.
This is what i admire about white people and chinese the vision to create a working envioment in the middle of nowhere.This is what other races Lack
Except the Chinese are communist and use practically slave labor
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