This is silent colour footage of the Lord Mayor of London and his entourage going to Lake Havasu, Arizona for the Opening of London Bridge at Lake Havasu City, on 10 October 1971.

The 1831 London Bridge was the last project of engineer John Rennie and was completed by his son, also John Rennie. By 1962, the bridge was not sound enough to support the increased load of traffic, and it was sold by the City of London Corporation to an American businessman Robert P. McCulloch. He had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to the United States to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu.

There is footage of the people arriving at Gatwick to take the aeroplane to America, arriving in California and then going to Arizona to the ceremonial opening of London Bridge.

There is aerial footage of the bridge and the ceremony on the ground. There is also a parade after the ceremony with the Lord Mayor, Sir Peter Studd.

Date: 1971
Reference No: COL/AC/30/019
Collection: City of London

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