Named after fire department Captain James L. Buford, the structure has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2016.

The tower was built in 1930 at a cost of $6,200 (equivalent to $113,000 in 2023),[3] and it immediately began to be burned and flooded regularly during training exercises and the testing of equipment.

In the 1960s, snorkel trucks gave the city's firefighters access to higher windows than could be reached with traditional ladders, and the tower's value as a training facility declined.

At the same time, the growth of the city meant that the drill tower, originally built near the southern edge of town, was now crowded by tall modern buildings and heavy traffic, making the training fires a growing hazard to downtown.

[3] The tower stood unused and untended for years, and its unglazed windows allowed it to become infested with pigeons;[4] eventually the city marked the structure for demolition.

[5] The tower has also become the site of the Austin Firefighters' Association's annual memorial service for first responders who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks.

Built in the style of an Italianate campanile, it features a low-pitched square hip roof and round-arched Romanesque Revival doors and windows.

The second through fifth levels are all largely alike, with bare concrete floors and ceilings, and exposed brick walls; they connect to each other by a central steel staircase.