St. John's Beacon, often referred to by locals as the St John's Tower (or more recently as Radio City Tower), is the name of a tower in Liverpool, built in 1969 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It is 138 metres (452 ft) high, and was built as a ventilation shaft for St. John's Market but was never used as such due to a new law passed on the year of completion. Near the top of the tower was a revolving restaurant and on top of that a viewing platform. It is the second tallest free-standing structure in Liverpool and the 30th tallest in the United Kingdom.
The original restaurant closed in 1977 over health and safety issues. It re-opened as a "Buck Rogers" space-themed restaurant in 1983, but closed due to lack of business. After this the observation deck and the café remained closed. In 1984 St. Johns Shopping Centre closed due to a fire. The Beacon also had to be closed, because it failed to meet regulations, being not equipped with a fire escape staircase.
The tower opened as Radio City 96.7 (and Magic 1548) in 2000. The outdoor observation deck which had been located on the roof of the restaurant was transformed into a second floor at a cost of £5 million; this now holds offices and conference rooms for the radio station. The studios are on the lower floor. Also built was a fire-proof shaft which holds the staircase. There are 558 stairs up to the top, and the tower uses the original lifts which accelerate to the top in 30 seconds. The floor is unable to revolve due to the weight of the 2nd floor extension.
The top of the tower is now festooned with mostly unused advertising hoardings, behind which are a number of antennae. The roof is home to the local Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex for Liverpool, but Radio City, Magic, and City Talk do not directly broadcast from the roof.