1960s pop cultural heritage 🤝 1960s architectural heritage NEWS: 🍏 Apple Corps Ltd have announced @thebeatles will take over the Grade II listed St John’s Beacon tower in Liverpool, as part of a new official visitor attraction opening in 2028. The project will see the existing Beatles Story museum (opened 1990) relocate from Albert Dock to the vacant former St John’s Market site, alongside a new Yellow Submarine themed experience within the tower itself. Designed by architect James A Roberts and built 1965-69, St John’s Beacon was designed to serve a dual function as an observation tower and a ventilation flue for boilers in the shopping centre below. The latter function was never served due to changes in health and safety. The 453ft elegant tapering shaft was cast in slipform concrete, with the space-age lantern containing a restaurant and public viewing platform. It was converted to a broadcasting studio for Radio City in 1999, until they vacated the building in 2024. The tower remained the tallest structure in Liverpool until 2008. It was Grade II listed in 2020 following support from C20 Society, as a member of a small and progressive international family of landmark observation towers constructed in the 1960s, and as the only structure of its type in England. Tickets sold for The Beatles Story will contribute to the newly established The Apple Corps Liverpool Trust, a charitable initiative to provide support and opportunities for emerging local artists. A 2016 study suggesting Beatles related tourism contributed £82m to the local economy each year. Images (c) Stratus Imagery; Liverpool Echo; Apple Corps Ltd