Lake Havasu, Arizona, London Bridge, Ducks
Did you know that the London Bridge is no longer in London? In fact, it stands in the Colorado River at Lake Havasu, Arizona. It was originally built in London around 1831 but by the 1960s it was not sufficiently structurally sound for the increasing load of vehicular traffic. In 1967, it was closed and dismantled. Each granite block was numbered so that the bridge could be rebuilt exactly as it was originally constructed. It was purchased by Robert P. McCulloch, the chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, who was the founder of Lake Havasu City, a retirement real estate development on the east shore of Lake Havasu, a large reservoir on the Colorado River. McCulloch purchased the bridge as a tourist attraction for Lake Havasu, which was then far from the usual tourist track. The idea was successful, bringing interested tourists and potential buyers of retirement homes to the area. I was quite surprised how uncomfortably hot it was at Lake Havasu. Living in Phoenix, I am quite acclimated to high temperature and even the higher humidity (40% - 45%) that we experience in late summer. However, those same conditions here felt murderously uncomfortable. I guess that is why McCulloch felt the need for an attraction to get vacationers and retirement-home buyers to visit Lake Havasu in the first place. Looking around, it seemed like there were as many boats and jet skis as residents. Certainly these ducks were representative of the resident population — cooling off in the water of the Colorado River.
Size: 6885px × 4590px
Location: Lake Havasu City, AZ, USA
Photo credit: © B. David Cathell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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