Steve Denyes: Music

Robert P. McCulloch

(Steve Denyes)

(excerpt from "Waiting on Arleen" monologue)

In 1968 McCulloch decided that Havasu City needed a centerpiece. So, when the London Bridge went up for auction he put in the winning bid of 2.46 million dollars.

Now, it’s interesting enough that a man would pay 2 1/2 million dollars for a bridge half way around the world but what made it more interesting was the fact that Havasu City didn’t need a bridge. In fact, the town sat here happily on the banks of Lake Havasu and didn’t aspire to go anywhere else.

That didn’t stop McCulloch, though. He had the bridge re-assembled brick by brick according to the original plans. Then, when it was complete, he had water from Lake Havasu diverted to flow underneath it. Thus creating the need for the bridge.

As I’m sure you can imagine, McCulloch took more than his share of ribbing for his little project and everybody had a good laugh at his expense. But now, all these years later, the London Bridge is the second largest tourist attraction in Arizona. Second only to the Grand Canyon. And, as McCulloch himself was known to say, “That’s a tough one to beat.”

My Dad was working as a stone mason in Phoenix when he got the call from McCulloch to come join his crew and help rebuild the bridge. He and my Mom moved up here in ’69 and just decided to stay.

After the bridge was built my Dad got into construction. He’s built something like fifty houses here over the years but he’s never said a single word about any of them. All these years later, he’s still talking about Robert P. McCulloch and the London Bridge.

It’s the same thing with all the old-timers around here. McCulloch’s a hero in this town. There’s even a big bronze statue of him at the base of the bridge. Last year, the Chamber of Commerce had me sing the song Arleen and I wrote about him for the 30th anniversary of the bridge. It was a big hit. I’ll have to remember to tell Arleen about that.