St Johns Beacon Radio City Tower
Radio City Tower (also known as St. John's Beacon) FTM Tower is a radio and observation tower in Liverpool, built in 1969 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It is 138 metres (452 ft) tall, and was built as a ventilation shaft for St. John's Market; however, it was never used as such owing to a new law passed in the year of completion. It is the second tallest free-standing structure in Liverpool and the 32nd tallest in the United Kingdom.
History
St. John's Beacon (1969 - 1999)
Near the top of the tower was a 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 which reach 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 1977 due to health and safety issues. It re-opened as a "Buck Rogers" space-themed restaurant in 1983, but closed again due to lack of business. After this the observation deck and the restaurant remained closed.
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