The BT Tower - A Communications Icon
...The Nineties: A Digital Future
The Nineties - A Digital Future
Now BT, and the world was catching up with the Tower. Once the tallest building in Britain, its many floors no longer needed as compact digital exchanges were fast replacing electro-mechanical switches and bulky transmission equipment.

New corporate badging and refurbishment of the 34th floor, together with the transformation of the 'Tower Suite' into the 'Tower Auditorium' ensured that the venue remained a top attraction for anyone fortunate enough to be invited.

 


Booklet: BT Tower - Serving the nation 24 hours a day.
| EXIT | Decades at the Tower | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
| The 1990s | Fortran 5 | Floor in a Spin | Red Nose Day | TV Productions |

Still an important part of the BT Network, the Tower had survived the dawn of the Digital Age.
 
25th Anniversary

The 8th October 1990 saw the 25th anniversary of the Tower's operational opening.

Fortran 5

Heart on the Line Fortran 5
Not a programming language, but a pop group (with Vince Clarke connections).

The video of the 1991 song 'Heart on the Line' by Fortran 5, used clips from the original Sixties Post Office film about the Tower.
     
Floor in a Spin

As reported in BT Today April 1995

The 34th floor drive motor and gearing
Building services took advantage of redecoration at London's BT Tower to renew the 30-year-old equipment which sends the 34th floor into a spin. The floor, which previously housed a rotating restaurant, was to be opened up for maintenance by contractors David Brown Radicon *, who installed the original underfloor equipment when the tower was built in 1965.
   
However, by an "amazing coincidence" said building services manager Barry Barnes, someone found a spare set of rotating equipment in the tower basement. So the contractors didn't have to dismantle the old equipment. Instead they tested the spares and put them into service. The old equipment will be restored and kept for maybe another 30 years. Barry said they only had a couple of days to do the work, but completed it before the carpet fitters moved in. (Pictured were BT engineers Bob Poole, Mick Stembridge and Simon Swanson with Mark Westwood of contractors, David Brown Radicon ).

[* In 2016, David Brown and Santasalo joined forces to become one of the world’s leading mechanical power transmission brands. See https://dbsantasalo.com/ for current company details.]

Red Nose Day

March 1996

To help launch 'Red Nose Day', BT held special fund raising events in the Tower. Although the 34th floor had been redecorated in 1995 (see above), BT took the opportunity to fully refurbish floors 33-36 for corporate presentations. Additionally, the ground floors, entrance and reception areas were uplifted to improve security and to enhance the Tower's image. This was a major project for ACS Construction who were proud to include this as part of their portfolio of satisfied clients.

Notes: I think that apart from removing any obsolete transmission equipment, some floors would have been  untouched for many, many years. This was the time that the Tower gained its distinctive blue panels and glass canopy entrance.

TV Productions

One Foot in the Past

BBC2 20.00 hrs. Tuesday 19th May 1998.

Tony Benn recalled the original opening in 1965 and how the Tower symbolises the communications of today.

"...from the day it opened, the revolving restaurant excited everyone... but, I wondered whether the machinery still worked. Fantastic- It does !"

Speaking from the section in which the mast is located, he told BBC TV:-

"Well this of course is the best view of all, from the top of the... the very top of the Tower, you don't have the windows. And you see the whole city (of London) and all the various monuments. There's St. Paul's Cathedral, where they worship God, and next to it is The Bank of England, where they worship money. And of course, all buildings symbolise for people, what it is they really worship, and I suppose... Today, society worships communication, television, radio, mobile phones, Internet - It is communication that symbolises this period of civilisation, combined with the money-men."  

References

Booklet "PHME 7378/ 8 /91"  © British Telecommunications plc. 1991 printed in England by Litho Tech Ltd.

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