St Johns Beacon is a well-known building in the city of Liverpool that serves as a radio tower and observation deck. It is a landmark of our city and is always popular with tourists. The tower has a height of 138 metres, plus a 10-metre radio antenna. This makes St Johns Beacon the tallest building in the city of Liverpool. Read more about the history of the tower and its renovation on the liverpool-future.com website.
The history of St Johns Beacon
St Johns Beacon, or Radio City Tower, was designed by James A. Roberts Associates. The building was constructed in 1969 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
In the last century, a luxurious five-star revolving restaurant operated at the top of the tower. The highlight of the venue was that the restaurant’s floor and walls revolved as a single unit. The roof, meanwhile, was used by visitors as an observation deck.
In 1979, the restaurant was closed due to safety concerns. It reopened a few years later, but with a limited number of seats and additional fire precautions. Subsequently, another renovation of the restaurant took place. This time, guests were presented with a space theme. However, the venue did not operate for long. The restaurant and observation deck were then closed to the residents of Liverpool.
Radio City and the radio tower
In 1998, Radio City became interested in the building and its renovation, with the aim of housing Radio City and Magic 1548, including their studios and necessary office space.
The renovations took place from 1999 to 2000 and cost over £5 million.
Radio City 96.7 (and Magic 1548) opened in August 2000. The observation deck was converted into a second floor, and the radio station’s offices operated there.
It is worth noting that during the renovation, the words “Radio City 96.7” were added between the first and second floors. This sign lit up in yellow at night.
In addition, a local 10C Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex for Liverpool is located on the roof. However, the broadcasts of Radio City and Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & North West are not transmitted directly from the roof. The FM signal is sent from the Allerton Park Transmitter.
In 2020, Radio City Talk ceased broadcasting. The radio station was deemed unprofitable due to the small number of listeners.
However, St Johns Beacon was used for more than just the radio.
In 2017, the first “Making Art 4.0” art exhibition and competition was organised in the Radio office.
As of early 2024, St Johns Beacon houses the studios and offices for the regional programmes of Radio City and Rock FM.
What we know about Radio City
The history of Radio City began in 1974. On 21 October, at 5:58 am, 194 Radio City began its broadcast. The first song played on the station was “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder. The station was broadcast on 1548 kHz AM, which was then known as the 194-metre medium wave.
In 1989, a new talk station called City Talk 1548 AM was launched. However, the experiment was unsuccessful, and in 1991, Radio City Gold was launched, later known as City Gold. That same year, the company was acquired by EMAP Radio, which returned the main FM station to its modern version and original name, Radio City 96.7.
In the modern era, Radio City is an independent local radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Merseyside, Cheshire, and parts of North Wales.
So, that’s the story of the St Johns Beacon radio tower, which, without exaggeration, is a landmark of the city of Liverpool. We hope you found our article informative and learned more about our city.