The Newgate Street Tower is designed to provide ventilation for the Underground Railway network beneath it. The shaft it stands on is however reused. It was originally constructed to house the lifts which gave access to the then "Post Office Station".

"Post Office Station" was opened in July 1900 and named after the nearby General Post Office Headquarters. The station entrance was at that time situated on the north side of Newgate Street. A photograph in the collection of the London Transport Museum shows the original booking hall, with two men standing by the lift-shaft on the right.

When Post Office Station was upgraded in the 1930's, its lifts were replaced with escalators. The station changed its name to "St Paul's" in 1937 and is known by that name today.  Its entrance is now at the point where Newgate, Cheapside and St. Martin's le Grand coincide, 125 metres south-east of the Tower.

Although the lift-shaft is now inaccessible to the public from below, it was said by a recent visitor  that "traffic noise and the pealing of St. Paul's bells could clearly be heard echoing down the shaft's dark walls" (http://underground-history.co.uk/hiddenbits.php).