倫敦橋

倫敦橋





歌仔都有得唱：

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady .................


而在香港改成了《有隻雀仔跌落水！》相信各位都有唱過。而幾代的倫敦橋，相繼纥立在泰晤士河上，經已有上千年。


【維基百科】By the end of the 18th century, it was apparent that the old London Bridge — by then over 600 years old — needed to be replaced. It was narrow and decrepit, and blocked river traffic.

Old London Bridge Source: wikipedia

古老的倫敦橋，原來是有屋子建在橋上的。之後起了 Rennie's Bridge 新倫敦橋。


【維基百科】In 1799, a competition for designs to replace the old bridge was held, prompting the engineer Thomas Telford to propose a bridge with a single iron arch spanning 600 feet (180 m). However this design was never used, because of uncertainty about its feasibility and the amount of land needed for its construction.

The bridge was eventually replaced by a structure of five stone arches, designed by engineer John Rennie. The new bridge was built 100 feet (30 m) west (upstream) of the original site by Rennie's son of the same name. Work began in 1824 and the foundation stone was laid, in the southern coffer dam, on 15 June 1825. The old bridge continued in use while the new bridge was being built, and was demolished after the latter opened in 1831.

New London Bridge（Rennie's Bridge）Source: wikipedia

到了 1967年倫敦市政府，又打算建造更新的倫敦橋，而舊橋 Rennie's Bridge 就賣了給美國！


【維基百科】In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing."

On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was sold to the Missourian entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a newspaper interview. As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was numbered to aid re-assembly.

Rennie's Bridge in Arizona Source: wikipedia

拆卸後的倫敦橋，被運往美國阿里桑那州的哈蘇城，1971年重新架了起來。


【維基百科】The bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on 10 October 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridge spans the Bridgewater Channel canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centrepiece of a theme park in English style, complete with a Tudor period shopping mall. Rennie's London Bridge has become Arizona's second-biggest tourist attraction, after the Grand Canyon.

The current London Bridge was designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson. The senior engineer was Alan Simpson[citation needed], the superstructure was designed by a team led by Michael Leeming, and foundations by a team led by Keith Pontin. The bridge was constructed by contractors John Mowlem and Co. from 1967 to 1972, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 March 1973.


泰晤士河流經英格蘭首都倫敦市，幾百年來水流不盡，但 倫敦橋 London Bridge，就經已經歷了幾代！

落戶美國阿里桑拿州的倫敦橋

點擊上面地圖後，再把小人拉到橋上，就可以看到倫敦橋。

【維基百科】London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States, that is the reconstruction of the 1831 London Bridge that spanned the River Thames in London, England until it was dismantled in 1967.

The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge, that was bought by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to America, to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu.

The bridge was completed in 1971 (along with a canal), and links an island in the lake with the main part of Lake Havasu City.






嗜悲 恭逢一次在北美作自駕遊，去玩胡佛水壩，後本來就是想去看倫敦橋，卻應為在路上看見 “大峽谷祕境” road sign 轉了如一條本來 paved 的小路，怎知愈行愈入變成了石仔路，煙塵滾滾上高落低，卒之看到了所謂 “祕境”，回程已經沒時間再去 倫敦橋，於是折返 拉斯維加斯 投棧。


隔天才到 哈蘇城 看 倫敦橋 。。。。。。回憶中原來已經十多年前的往事。


世事變人情也在變，人生有生有死，硬體卻能保存着！




伸延閱覽：
London Bridge 維基百科
London Bridge (Lake Havasu City) 維基百科