Lillie Hitchcock Coit left one third of her fortune, about $118,000, for "adding to the beauty of the city." That money paid for the tower. It was completed in 1933 and dedicated on October 8, 1933.
Arthur Brown Jr. and Henry Temple Howard designed it. The shaft that holds the viewing platform is 180 feet tall.
In 1934, twenty-two artists painted the lobby murals on site as part of a federal art program. A censorship dispute led to a hammer and sickle and a "Western Worker" banner being removed. The tower opened to the public on October 12, 1934.