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All the United Kingdom England Liverpool St Johns Beacon

St Johns Beacon

The tower was originally used as a chimney for the waste incinerator of St Johns Precinct and Market.

Liverpool, England

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From St Georges Hall, photo taken 2018   Gavin / Atlas Obscura User
Radio City Tower   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
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The view from the top of St John’s Beacon.   rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
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In the distance   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
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St Johns Beacon (also known as Radio City Tower) is a communications and observation tower in Liverpool, England, constructed in 1969 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It is 138 metres (452 ft) tall, and including its 10m antenna, makes it the tallest structure in Liverpool. 

Previously the tower operated as a revolving restaurant with an observation area on the rooftop. The original restaurant closed in 1977 and re-opened in 1983 as a "Buck Rogers" space-themed restaurant. However, this was closed a year later following fire-safety regulations, which ruled that a lack of staircase made the building unsafe.

The tower was fully refurbished in 1999 at a cost of £5 million and it reopened in August 2000. Until December 2024, it functioned as the studios for Hits Radio Liverpool and Greatest Hits Radio. A fireproof staircase was added and the observation area on the second floor was turned into the offices for the radio station. The tower roof is home to the Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex alongside various antennas. The original revolving mechanism still exists but the weight of the existing studio facilities means that the original rotating floor can no longer turn and has now been secured using brackets.

Public tours of the tower operate every day. 

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Architectural Oddities Outsider Architecture Architecture

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Enter via the St Johns Beacon reception at the base of the tower.

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Edited By

Jaszmina Szendrey, timmcnulty, Kookaracha, Chris Cannon...

  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • timmcnulty
  • Kookaracha
  • Chris Cannon
  • TheWizenedOne
  • nbj914
  • Dr Alan P Newman
  • rbenn250
  • Gavin
  • Xavixavir

Published

September 26, 2010

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Sources
  • Yelp: St. John's Beacon: http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/st-johns-beacon-liverpool
  • Wikipedia: St. John's Beacon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Beacon
St Johns Beacon
1 Houghton St.
St John's Precinct
Liverpool, England, L1
United Kingdom
53.4062, -2.982016
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