St John's Beacon - Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK.
N 53° 24.371 W 002° 58.929
30U E 501186 N 5917456
The iconic Radio City Tower, also known as St. John's Beacon, is a radio and observation tower located on Houghton Street in Liverpool.
Waymark Code: WMZEN7
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/30/2018
Views: 1
Radio City Tower, also known as St. John's Beacon is home to Radio City, Radio City 2, Radio City 3, Radio City Talk and a viewing gallery experience.
The tower was originally used as a chimney for the waste incinerator of St. John's Precinct and Market. It was built in 1969 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The 138 metres (452 ft) tall tower was designed by James A. Roberts Associates in Birmingham.
'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.'
From 1969 – 1999 there was a revolving restaurant near the top of the tower, 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. 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. Source: (
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"Radio City Tower (1999 – present)
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; this now holds offices and conference rooms for the radio station. The studios are on the lower floor that used to be 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 refurbishment added an advertising framework at the top of the tower designed for both a fabric banner and illuminated light boxes. However, advertisements have only appeared infrequently, with Smirnoff and the Ford Motor Company being among the companies to have displayed advertisements there. In 2008 the framework was used for a banner during the European Capital of Culture celebrations. 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." Source: (
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At 400 feet above the City Centre of Liverpool, the Radio City Tower Viewing Gallery offers 360 degree panoramic views of Merseyside, the Wirral, North Wales and as far away as the Cumbrian Hills on clearer days and is wheelchair accessible. Views from the tower can be seen on the following youtube link: (
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Open daily (1 January 2018 - 31 December 2018) including Bank Holidays from 10.30am until 5.30pm with last entry to the Beacon being 30 minutes before close.
Admission prices include a full colour souvenir booklet. Prices are £5.50 for adults, £4.50 for students or retired and £3.50 for children up to the age of 15. Under 5’s are free of charge. A family ticket for 2 Adults and up to 3 Children is £15.00. There is no need to book in advance and there is no time limit on your stay.
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