LONDON’S landmark BT Tower is be turned into an ‘iconic hotel’ after the Grade-II listed building was bought for £275m by a US business.
The restoration and transformation of the site, in London’s Fitzrovia, could take a long time though. BT Group may potentially take years to finally vacate the tower because of the scale and complexity of removing its technical equipment.
But fans of the building, which was once voted London’s second ugliest behind the Barbican, have welcomed the buyout as good news.
Any new owners MCR have promised a bright future for the site.
Tyler Morse, CEO and owner of MCR Hotels, said, via the BBC: “We are proud to preserve this beloved building and will work to develop proposals to tell its story as an iconic hotel, opening its doors for generations to enjoy.”
The 34th floor restaurant in the then Post Office Tower, Britain’s first revolving eatery, was opened by the postmaster general of the time Anthony Wedgwood Benn, and Sir William Butlin on 19 May 1966 after taking five years to build.
Fans of the swanky 60s food venue have taken to social media to call for the restoration of the famous revolving restaurant that has been closed for nearly 50 years.
The bistro attracted some of biggest stars of its day, including The Beatles, Muhammad Ali, Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones.
Situated way up on the 34th floor of the phallic 189m tall structure would turn round completely every 23 minutes, giving eaters incredible 360 degree views of the city.
There was even a terrace on the 35th floor, at the top of what was then the highest building in London, to enjoy a cocktail before dinner.
The tranquility of the venue was horrifically disturbed in October 1971 when an IRA bomb was detonated in the men’s toilets.
Fortunately no one was injured in the attack but it did take over two years to repair the extensive damage. The restaurant finally closed its doors to the public in 1980, when the leaseholder, holiday camp behemoth Butlin’s, saw its terms run out.
According to My London “In its first year alone more than 100,000 people wanting a slice of the high life ate at the restaurant – serving 800 lunches and 1,300 dinners every day. The food was ferried to the kitchens each morning from the basement store rooms.”
It was mothballed in the early 1980s but there have been various attempts to revive the restaurant. They include a proposed reopening for the London Olympics in 2012, an idea that was swiftly and silently brushed under the carpet some months after it was announced.
In 2015, the revolving restaurant was reopened for two short weeks to competition winners in honour of the tower’s golden anniversary.
The 1,400 lucky winners dined at the establishment at the top of the 189-metre tower and were able to taste a set menu over the course of the two weeks.
Fast forward to 2024 and supporters are now hoping for a taste of vintage nostalgia from the restaurant once exclusively reserved for the capital’s high-flyers.