In 1938 Parker Dam, spanning the Colorado River between Arizona and California, was completed. It is the deepest dam in the world, with 73 percent of its height below the original riverbed. This dam's reservoir is 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) long and is known as Lake Havasu.

The lake brought Robert P. McCulloch, Sr. to western Arizona in 1958. His original purchase of 3,500 acres of land at Pittsburg Point was followed by the 1964 acquisition of 26 square miles (41.84 square kilometers) of property that was to become Lake Havasu City.

McCulloch purchase the nearly 200-year-old London Bridge in 1968. This Bridge, built of granite quarried on Dartmoor, was originally a structure of 5 arches, and its overall dimensions were 928 feet (282.85 meters) long and 49 feet (14.94 meters) wide. He paid $2.46 million for the Bridge, and spent three years and an additional $7 million to connect the mainland of Lake Havasu City with an island in the Colorado River. The installation of the Bridge was completed and dedicated on October 10, 1971.Its towering walls and archways now provide a backdrop to the English Tudor-style village around it.