London Bridge: A History of Urban Survival

United Kingdom artifacts have long held fascination in other parts of the world. However, none as large as the London Bridge have managed to evolve, transform, and survive for 2,000 years. The 1831 version of the bridge was purchased in 1968 and moved to the desert of Arizona in the United States where it serves as a major tourist attraction. How that came to occur is only the end story of how a bridge became more a symbol of national heritage than a mere passage across the Thames, how its iconic status drove its evolution, how economic growth impacted its viability, how unfortunate engineering decisions led to its earlier than necessary replacement, and how the timing of reconstruction shaped its composition. This paper traces the history of the 1831 London Bridge and argues that it is a historical accident the bridge was even offered for sale to the Americans.