The tower was built in 1935, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Justo Rufino Barrios, who was President of Guatemala and instituted a number of reforms.

A plaque at the base reads: which roughly translates to English as: The tower had been fabricated by the United States Steel Products Company.

[1] The first electric illumination of the tower happened on 26 September 1958 and was financed by the brewery company Cervecería Centro Americana.

[2] The original beacon light installed on top of the tower burnt out in 1969.

[2] On 19 December 1985, a 16-year teenager scaled the tower to meditate but froze and could not climb back down.