Liverpool’s The Beatles museum to relocate to 1960s shopping centre

British multimedia company Apple Corps has announced that The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool will move from its site on the Royal Albert Dock to the St Johns Shopping Centre and former Radio City Tower.

More than quadrupling the footprint of the attraction’s current dockside site, the relocation will provide around 9,300 square metres of space for immersive exhibition design, original artefacts and reconstructed sets chronicling different eras of The Beatles as they rose to international fame.

The majority of The Beatles Story will be located in what was formerly St Johns Market in St Johns Shopping Centre, which was designed by English architect James A Roberts and built opposite Liverpool Lime Street station in 1969.

The Grade II-listed Radio City Tower, also known as St Johns Beacon, will be transformed into a Yellow Submarine-themed observation platform with views across the city.

Formerly a communications tower with a revolving restaurant, the transformed 138-metre-tall structure will operate as a standalone attraction complementing The Beatles Story museum.

“Liverpool was, and still is, music city, and now we are expanding The Beatles Story Experience in Liverpool – how far out,” said Ringo Starr. “The beat goes on.”

“If you’d told us this was going to happen when we were hanging out and getting started, we’d never have believed it,” added Paul McCartney. “The extraordinary plans the Apple Corps team have shown me for The Beatles Story take me right back to that journey, from Liverpool to the world and back home again.”

“It couldn’t have happened without Liverpool and I can’t wait for people to be able to step into our story and share the experience.”

Originally established on the Royal Albert Dock in 1990, The Beatles Story is set to relocate in 2028, aligning with the release of the upcoming The Beatles movie.

Apple Corps, which was founded by the four band members in 1968 to oversee The Beatles’ business interests, will take over ownership of the attraction from Mersey Ferrys and oversee the upcoming relocation.

“This is the kind of ambition I want to see more of across Britain – backing the things our great cities do best and turning that global reputation into jobs, opportunity and growth,” said UK prime minister Andy Burnham.

“This will be a world-class addition to Liverpool and another showcase for British music and creativity on the international stage.”

Past proposals to transform the Radio City Tower included the controversial plan to connect it to the roof of the 19th-century Central Library by a zipwire.

Photography by Neil Martin via Unsplash

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