Wender·Vista
BT Tower
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited Kingdom
in Fitzrovia, central London

BT Tower

— — a slim mast the city built up to and then around.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A narrow concrete shaft above the rooftops north of Oxford Street. For fifteen years it was the tallest thing in London, and for a long time it was almost a state secret, left off the official maps. The revolving restaurant on the thirty-fourth floor stopped turning in 1980. The aerials still carry signals across the city, but the building itself is being made into something else now. — from the studio

from the studio
BT Tower
— bring it home

BT Tower, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about BT Tower

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The BT Tower stands 177 metres (581 feet) above Cleveland Street in the Fitzrovia district of central London. Designed by Eric Bedford of the Ministry of Public Building and Works and completed in 1964, it opened to the public the following year as the Post Office Tower. It held the title of the tallest building in London until the NatWest Tower surpassed it in 1980. The structure is Grade II listed and sits a short walk from Tottenham Court Road and Warren Street stations, just north of Oxford Street.

— the stone

The form is a reinforced concrete shaft 35 feet in diameter, designed slim enough to keep microwave dishes free of sway. Above the public floors a lantern of aerials once relayed long-distance telephone traffic across the country, before fibre optics carried the work underground. The thirty-fourth floor housed a revolving restaurant operated by Butlins from 1966 until a 1971 bomb closed it to the public; it stopped turning in 1980. In 2024 BT sold the building to MCR Hotels for £275 million for conversion into a hotel.

— informed by BBC — BT Tower sale
— the visit

For most of its life the tower has not been open to the public. After the 1971 bombing, the upper floors closed, and for decades the building was formally absent from Ordnance Survey maps despite being plainly visible across the West End. BT has opened it occasionally on Open House London weekends, with timed entry that books out within minutes. The current MCR Hotels conversion is expected to open the building to overnight guests later this decade, with the revolving floor restored as a restaurant.

— informed by Open House London
— where
United Kingdom · Fitzrovia, London
— position
51.5215° N · 0.1389° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km SE
British Museum
museum
1 km N
Regent's Park
royal park
1 km S
Oxford Street
shopping street
N
BT Tower
British Museum
Regent's Park
Oxford Street
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about BT Tower — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

177 metres, or 581 feet, including the aerial rigging at the top. The structural concrete shaft accounts for most of that, with a lantern of communications equipment above the public floors.

Construction ran from 1961 to 1964 under the Ministry of Public Building and Works, with Eric Bedford as chief architect. It opened to the public in October 1965 as the Post Office Tower.

As a key telecommunications relay it was treated as a sensitive site, and Ordnance Survey maps omitted it for decades despite its visibility. The Official Secrets Act designation was formally lifted in 1993.

There was. Butlins ran one on the thirty-fourth floor from 1966 until a 1971 bomb closed it to the public. The floor stopped turning in 1980. MCR Hotels plans to restore it as part of the conversion.

BT sold the tower to MCR Hotels in February 2024 for £275 million. MCR plans to convert it to a hotel, with the broadcast functions relocated before handover.

Not routinely. BT has occasionally opened it for Open House London weekends with timed entry. Regular public access is expected to return once the hotel conversion is complete.

— about the piece in your home

It tends to. Londoners who came up in the 60s, 70s, or 80s grew up with the tower on the skyline. A Small or Medium in a Fitzrovia or Camden flat reads as quietly local.

Modernist, mid-century, and industrial-loft rooms take it well. The slim vertical form and concrete palette sit naturally beside Eames seating, Bauhaus posters, and warm brass lighting.

Yes. It fits the brutalist-revival and modernist-architecture print trend that's run strong in London and New York interiors since 2023, especially in study and home-office spaces.

Above a standard three-seat sofa, the single Large is the cleanest read. For a wider wall, the 4-tile Mural opens the composition; the 9-tile Mural is right for a double-height stair landing.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splash. The Glossy finish is best kept for dry wall art.

A microfibre cloth and clean water. Avoid abrasive sponges, household solvents, and ammonia-based glass sprays, which can dull the surface over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to our single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. We do not license the work to third parties and do not reprint other artists.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.