HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
The 1830s Thames bridge, moved stone by stone to Arizona in 1971, now the subject of local ghost-walk lore.
1340 McCulloch Blvd N, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
Research updated October 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to walk or view; the seasonal guided walking tour has a per-person fee and requires advance group booking.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved bridge deck and promenade; the guided walking tour route includes about 51 stairs to reach the top of the bridge
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1971 · Original 1831 London Bridge stone, relocated and rebuilt 1968-1971 · Anchors the McCulloch-era founding of Lake Havasu City · One of the most-visited attractions in western Arizona
John Rennie designed the London Bridge that opened across the River Thames in 1831, replacing a stone bridge that had stood since 1209. By the 20th century, the growing weight of London traffic was causing the bridge to sink into the riverbed at roughly an inch every eight years, and engineers determined it could not be widened or reinforced further. The City of London put the bridge up for sale in 1967.
Robert P. McCulloch, a chainsaw and outboard-motor manufacturer who had founded Lake Havasu City on the Colorado River four years earlier, won the auction with a bid of $2.46 million in 1968. McCulloch had the bridge's roughly 10,276 exterior granite blocks individually numbered, then shipped them through the Panama Canal to Long Beach, California, and trucked them to Arizona. The stone was used to face a new steel-reinforced concrete structure built on land, rather than reassembling the original engineering — a decision that let the bridge carry modern vehicle traffic.
McCulloch spent an additional $7 million dredging the Bridgewater Channel beneath the reconstructed bridge, connecting it to Lake Havasu. The rededication took place October 10, 1971, three years after the stone arrived. McCulloch Properties built the adjoining English Village, an open-air shopping and dining district styled after the bridge's country of origin, which still operates as a tourist destination. Today the bridge carries McCulloch Boulevard traffic and pedestrians across the channel and ranks among Arizona's most-visited attractions outside Phoenix and Tucson.
Sources
Guides on Lake Havasu's local ghost walks describe sightings tied to the bridge's transplanted stones: a couple in early-20th-century English clothing near the steps, men in old military uniforms seen crossing the span, and a woman in a dark dress who reportedly ignores questions from tourists. A paranormal investigator who ran walking tours of the bridge in the early 2010s said he had recorded EVP sessions and photographed light anomalies along the structure, though none of this has been independently verified.
The best-known version of the legend claims the ghost of Jack the Ripper crossed the ocean with the stones, though this rests entirely on speculation with no documented historical link between the London killer and the bridge itself. A related theory notes that because the reconstruction faced a new steel-and-concrete core with the original granite rather than reassembling the bridge stone-for-stone, some visitors speculate that debris from the London side could have traveled with the shipment.
Ghost Adventures explored the bridge's reputation in a Season 23 episode filmed in April 2020, examining accounts of shadow figures near the water and reports linking the bridge to deaths and disappearances on Lake Havasu. No physical evidence supporting the darker claims has been documented by historians or engineers involved in the reconstruction.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Cross the 930-foot bridge on foot or explore the adjoining English Village shops and channel-front promenade at your own pace, free of charge. A free self-guided brochure is available at the Go Lake Havasu Visitor Center, 422 English Village.
A 90-minute, half-mile guided walk across and around the bridge covering its move from England and still-visible WWII-era strafing scars in the stone, offered seasonally October through April for groups of 10-24.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
10 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Yuma, AZ
Yuma Territorial Prison operated from 1876 to 1909 on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona. It held 3,069 prisoners during its 33-year operation, including 29 women. The facility became a state historic park and has been voted by USA Today readers as the Best Haunted Destination in the nation.
Denver, CO
The Molly Brown House in Denver was the home of philanthropist and Titanic survivor Margaret Brown from 1894 until her death in 1932. Designed by architect William A. Lang in 1889 in a mixed Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque style, the house has operated as a museum under Historic Denver Inc. since 1971 after a public campaign saved it from demolition.
Hancock, MI
The Quincy Mining Company began extracting copper from the Keweenaw Peninsula in 1846 and operated continuously until 1945, producing nearly a billion pounds of copper. During that period, 253 workers died in documented underground accidents. At its deepest, the mine reached 9,000 feet — the deepest copper mine in the world at the time — and its No. 2 shaft hoist house is a National Historic Landmark.