St. John's Beacon

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.

Gallery

See also

  • List of tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool
  • List of towers
  • Architecture of Liverpool

References

External links

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Carl Griffin
5 April 2016
Incredible views of the city. Worth paying the entry fee for.
Lamia
13 April 2016
The nicest staff ever
Stewart Hassall-Edge
11 July 2017
Great views of Liverpool and beyond! In my experience you can only go on Sunday but it's definitely worth a visit.
Phil Longfoot
5 August 2016
Very friendly and helpful staff. Fantastic view. Well worth 5.50
Erika Lakó
8 August 2014
Amazing how you get to see the city from a tower
Craig Crabb
27 September 2012
Visit St James Park for some excellent views of the tower
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St Johns Beacon, 1 Houghton St, Liverpool L1 1RL, UK Get directions
Mon-Fri 11:00 AM–5:30 PM
Sat-Sun 11:00 AM–6:00 PM

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