Radio City Tower

Radio and observation tower in Liverpool, England

Radio City Tower

Radio City Tower, viewed from Lime Street in June 2021.

Alternative names| St John's Beacon
St John's Tower
General information
Status| Open
Type| Radio station
Location| Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Address| 1 Houghton Street
Liverpool
L1 1RL
Country| England
Coordinates| 53°24′23″N 2°58′55″W﻿ / ﻿53.40639°N 2.98194°W﻿ / 53.40639; -2.98194
Current tenants| Bauer Media Audio UK
Radio City
Greatest Hits Radio
Construction started| 1966
Completed| 1969
Opened| 1971
Renovated| 1999-2000
Cost| £5 Million (Refurbishment)
Owner| RivingtonHark
AnaCap
Height
Roof| 138 m (453 ft)
Technical details
Floor count| 5
Lifts/elevators| 2
Design and construction
Architect(s)| James A. Roberts Associates - Birmingham
Structural engineer| Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick
Other information
Parking| St John's Shopping Centre
Website
stjohnsbeacon.co.uk
References
[1]

Radio City Tower (also known as St. John's Beacon) is a radio and observation tower in Liverpool, England, built in 1969 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It was designed by James A. Roberts Associates in Birmingham. It is 138 metres (453') tall, and is the second tallest free-standing building in Liverpool and the 32nd tallest in the United Kingdom.

When considering the height of the building, it has a 10 metre (33') long antenna on the roof, making it the tallest structure in Liverpool (including antennas).

As testament to the importance of its design, which was described by Historic England as “embodying the technological bravura and spirit of the space age”, the building was listed at Grade II in November 2020.[2]

The tower takes its name from the main radio station that operates from it, Radio City and its sister station Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West.[3]

## St. John's Beacon (1969–1999)[edit]

At the top of the tower was a luxury 5 star revolving restaurant, the facade and floor of the restaurant revolving as one unit, while the roof of the restaurant was used as an observation platform for visitors. There are 558 stairs up to the top, and two lift shafts with lifts reaching the top in 30 seconds.

The tower is structurally independent of the adjacent shopping centre, with a simple foundation onto sandstone. The foundation is 60 feet in diameter, 17 feet deep and begins 40 feet below Houghton Street. It has a tapering shaft that was built using slip-formed concrete. The crows nest structure at the top was then added after the shaft was formed.

The original restaurant closed in 1979 for health and safety issues.[4] It was re-opened, with a reduced capacity and additional fire prevention measures, during the early 1980s. The restaurant was eventually re-fitted as a "Buck Rogers" space-themed restaurant in 1983, but closed again due to lack of business.[4] After this the observation deck and the restaurant remained closed.

In the following years, the tower lay empty and derelict. Often considered to be an eyesore or a “White Elephant” by fellow Liverpudlians, blue "UFO style" neon strip lights were added to the perimeter of the tower in 1994 in an attempt to increase its attractiveness. These were later removed upon the refurbishment of the tower.

In late 1998, Radio City, owned and operated by the then Emap Radio, expressed interest in refurbishing the tower to house Radio City and Magic 1548, including their studios and required office space. The plan was announced to the public and in the interim period, Radio City would regularly broadcast from the beacon and also broadcast during the Lightshow Festival period in late 1999 which involved many different patterned and coloured lights being shone from the tower.

Work commenced in 1999 and was completed in the summer of 2000.

## Radio City Tower (1999-present)[edit]

The tower was refurbished in 1999 at a cost of £5 million. It reopened as Radio City 96.7 (and Magic 1548) in August 2000. The outdoor observation deck, which had been located on the roof of the restaurant, was transformed into a second floor. It now holds offices and conference rooms, for both radio stations. The studios are on the lower floor, which was previously the restaurant. The original revolving structure and machinery were left intact during the refurbishment. Brackets were added to lock the moving structure in place.

The tower has been known to sway in heavy winds. This is a design feature and common in construction within skyscrapers and tall building in order to prevent the building snapping at its base or cracking along the shaft.

During the refurbishment between the 1st and 2nd floor, the Radio City 96.7 lettering was added. It is illuminated in yellow, during dark. Several other lights were added onto the base of the crows nest structure, which is illuminated all day and periodically change colour. During Christmas, a beam of light is fired onto the base of the tower, with a Christmas themed image displayed. The 2nd floor windows are illuminated at night, sometimes with a particular colour to mark certain events. A red aircraft warning beacon sits on top of the tower's main structure.

The refurbishment added an advertising framework at the top of the tower, designed for both a fabric banner and illuminated light boxes.

Window cleaning and light bulb changes are performed by specialist teams, who abseil down the side of the tower.

The roof houses the local 10C Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex for Liverpool. Radio City and Greatest Hits Radio North West do not directly broadcast from the roof. Their FM signal is transmitted by the Allerton Park Transmitter, along with BBC Radio Merseyside on 95.8FM and Capital Liverpool on 107.6FM

In 2017, the Liverpool-based tech startup Scan And Make organised the first edition of the art contest exhibition "Making Art 4.0" in the Radio offices.

In 2018, an artwork banner was displayed on the beacon's advertisement framework. It was titled Liverpool 2018 , celebrating 10 years since the city's 2008 European Capital Of Culture events.

Radio City Talk ceased broadcasting on 31 May 2020, after it was deemed not financially viable due to low listening figures.

As of September 2020, the tower houses the studios for the local programming of Radio City and National programming for Greatest Hits Radio.

## St John's Beacon Viewing Gallery[edit]

St John's Beacon Viewing Gallery logo

In 2010, the Radio City Tower's (St John's Beacon) first floor was opened full-time to members of the public on paying an entrance fee. As of 2023, this fee is £7.50 for adults and £5.50 for children.[5] Visitors can spend as long as they wish in the tower. The gallery gives the opportunity to view Liverpool from a 360° panoramic view 452 ft (138 m) above Houghton Street.[6]

## Radio stations[edit]

Initially Radio City and Magic 1548 began broadcasting from the tower. However, the tower was actually refurbished with 6 studios and a small recording and news studio.

In 2008 the then City Talk 105.9 started broadcasting from studio 3. Radio City broadcast from Studio 2 and Magic from Studio 1.

In 2015, with the revamp of local stations and the creation of Bauer City 1, Bauer City 2 and Bauer City 3, Magic 1548 became Radio City 2 and City Talk 105.9 became Radio City Talk and swapped frequencies with Radio City 2. A new station, Radio City 3 launched on 19 January 2015. This station did not need a dedicated studio as all output came from The Hits in Manchester but retained local advertisements. It was later dropped from the lineup in 2017 and eventually, The Hits became Hits Radio UK in 2018.

Radio City is now part of the Hits Radio Network and still broadcasts its locally produced breakfast show, 6-10am weekdays, from Studio 2.[7]

In January 2019, Bauer launched Greatest Hits Radio across the UK with Bauer City 2 stations becoming local outputs. Radio City 2 was rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West. Most of Greatest Hits Radio's programming for the UK originates from Studio 1 including breakfast, as well as local news for Liverpool.

Radio City Talk ceased broadcasting on 31 May 2020 due to low listening figures. In September 2020 with changes to Greatest Hits Radio across the UK, the North Wales naming was dropped and the station became Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool and The North West after to merging with several other stations across the north west. Studio 1 still broadcasts the National weekday breakfast as well as weekend content.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Radio City Tower.

## Failed zip-wire proposal[edit]

In late June 2020, a proposal was put up by ZipWorldUK for a new permanent £5 million zip wire that would start from the second floor of the Beacon and end in Liverpool's Central Library. The project attracted mixed public opinions, with many people claiming that it would be a permanent defacing of one of the city's world famous landmarks.[citation needed] Others expressed concerns that the noise of the zip wire could disturb library users.[citation needed] The plan went before the City Council and on 30 June 2020 the plans were approved,[8] however, on 2 September 2020 it was reported that Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson was withdrawing permission for this use of the Central Library, effectively vetoing the proposal.[9]

## See also[edit]

* List of tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool
* List of towers
* Architecture of Liverpool
* Beitou Refuse Incineration Plant, a waste incineration plant with a revolving restaurant on its chimney in Taipei, Taiwan

## References[edit]

1. ^ "St John's Beacon (Radio City Tower), non Civil Parish - 1471669 | Historic England".
2. ^ "St John's Beacon given listed status". Place North West. 27 November 2020.
3. ^ "Liverpool aerial zipline to be approved despite fears of 'Disneyisation' of historic city centre". The Independent. 25 June 2020.
4. ^ a b "St John's Beacon (Radio City Tower), Non Civil Parish - 1471669 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
5. ^ "Prices & Times". St Johns Beacon. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
6. ^ "Home Version 11". St Johns Beacon, Liverpool. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
7. ^ Kirkham, Jenny (7 December 2019). "Views from Radio City show how Liverpool is constantly changing". Liverpool Echo.
8. ^ @RadioCityNews (30 June 2020). "BREAKING: @ZipWorldUK's plans to put..." (Tweet) - via Twitter.
9. ^ "Exclusive: Liverpool Mayor blocks £5m zip wire plan". 2 September 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Radio City Tower Archived 3 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine at Skyscraper News
* Making Art 4.0 Making Art 4.0 Exhibition in the Radio City Tower 2017.
* Radio City Tower at Structurae
* Entry at Skyscraperpage.com

Records

Preceded by

Royal Liver Building

|  Tallest Building in Liverpool
1965 – 2008  | Succeeded by

West Tower

* v
* t
* e

Buildings and structures in Liverpool, England

Skyscrapers and highrises
(over 60m)|

* 1 Princes Dock
* Alexandra Tower
* Beetham Tower
* The Lexington
* Municipal Buildings
* New Hall Place
* The Plaza
* Port of Liverpool Building
* Post & Echo Building
* Radio City Tower
* Royal Liver Building
* Unity Commercial
* Unity Residential
* West Tower

Notable lowrises|

* Albert Dock
* Traffic Office
* Alder Hey Children's Hospital
* Atlantic Tower
* Bank of England
* Bluecoat Chambers
* Britannia Adelphi Hotel
* Chinese Arch
* County Sessions House
* Crowne Plaza LJLA
* Cunard Building
* Empire Theatre
* Everton Water Tower
* Everyman Theatre, Liverpool
* Grand Central Hall
* Great North Western Hotel
* Hargreaves Building
* Homeopathic Hospital
* India Buildings
* International Slavery Museum
* James Parsons Building
* Liverpool Central Library
* Liverpool Cotton Exchange Building
* Liverpool Magistrates' Court
* Liverpool Playhouse
* Liverpool Town Hall
* Liverpool Women's Hospital
* The Lyceum
* Malmaison
* Mann Island Buildings
* Merseyside Maritime Museum
* Museum of Liverpool
* National Conservation Centre
* One Park West
* Oratory
* Oriel Chambers
* Philharmonic Dining Rooms
* Philharmonic Hall
* Prudential Assurance Building
* Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts
* Royal Court Theatre
* Royal Insurance Building
* Royal Liverpool University Hospital
* Speke Hall
* Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse
* St George's Hall
* Tate Liverpool
* Tower Buildings
* Victoria Building
* Walker Art Gallery
* Wheel of Liverpool
* White Star Building
* Woolton Hall
* World Museum Liverpool

Places of worship|

* All Saints' Church
* Al-Rahma Mosque
* Church of All Hallows
* Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas
* Church of St Agnes and St Pancras
* Church of St Clare
* German Church
* Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas
* Gustav Adolf Church
* Liverpool Cathedral
* Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
* Norwegian Fishermans' Church
* Old Christ Church
* The Oratory
* Princes Road Synagogue
* St George's Church
* Saint John the Baptist's Church
* St Luke's Church
* St Luke's Church, Walton
* St Michael's Church
* St Peter's Church
* Toxteth Unitarian Chapel
* Ullet Road Unitarian Church
* Welsh Presbyterian Church

Transportation|

* Liverpool Coach Station
* Liverpool One bus station
* James Street station
* Kingsway Tunnel
* Liverpool Central station
* Liverpool John Lennon Airport
* Liverpool Lime Street station
* Liverpool South Parkway station
* Mersey Railway Tunnel
* Moorfields station
* Queensway Tunnel

Shopping complexes|

* Clayton Square Shopping Centre
* Lewis's Building
* Liverpool ONE
* Liverpool Shopping Park
* Metquarter
* New Mersey Shopping Park
* St Johns Shopping Centre

Sports venues and arenas|

* Aigburth Cricket Ground
* Anfield
* Goodison Park
* Liverpool Arena
* O2 Academy Liverpool
* Walton Hall Park
* Wavertree Athletics Centre

Sculptures and monuments|

* Liverpool Cenotaph
* Nelson Monument
* Steble Fountain
* Superlambanana
* Titanic Memorial
* Victoria Monument
* Wellington's Column
* Yellow Submarine

Notable demolished|

* Childwall Hall
* Concourse House
* Custom House
* The Futurist Cinema
* Liverpool Castle
* Liverpool Central High Level railway station
* Liverpool Sailors' Home
* Liverpool Overhead Railway
* Octagon Chapel
* St Peter's Church
* St John's Market
* Walton Hall

Lists|

* List of public art in Liverpool
* List of tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool
* Listed buildings in Liverpool

* Category
* Commons

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template