London Bridge is in such a sorry state that double decker buses no longer operate over it and tourists are now being wooed by the Dixie Belle riverboat tour and a nearby Hawaiian gift shop instead.
Mike Dagon, a local real estate agent had this to say:
London Bridge still attracts a lot of people but the visitation hasn't grown much over the years. It used to be the second-most popular tourist attraction in the state behind the Grand Canyon and now it's down in the teens. That's because of the dilapidated condition of the village and the bad word of mouth about that area...
Fear not residents of SE1. House prices haven't tumbled and your London Bridge is as popular as ever. We're talking about the other London Bridge. The one in the U.S.
American Robert McCulloch bought the current London Bridge's predecessor and shipped it to Arizona brick by brick back in the late sixties. It's rumoured that he thought he was actually buying Tower Bridge but mistake or not it proved to be a good investment for a couple of decades at least. At a cost of $2.4 million the bridge flooded the area with tourists who didn't want the hassle of actually leaving the USA to take in some culture. A British themed village was built near the bridge and visitors could drink tea while listening to local radio station K-BBC.
Unfortunately harder times have befallen Lake Havasu City where the bridge now resides according to this report in The Arizona Republic.
Londonist suggests we help out Arizona's flagging tourist trade by selling off a few more of our own 'attractions'. The Nazi Prince could do to expand his horizons and we do have a royal wedding with more than a few location problems.
