The tower got its name because in ancient times the road leading to the city of Odoeva began from it, a road that has survived to this day. This road is now the central thoroughfare of the city, Lenin Avenue, which was called Kyiv Street before the revolution. Over time, the tower was referred to by different names: first as the Kyiv Gates, then as the Kazan Gates, in honor of the nearby chapel of Our Lady of Kazan. In a postcard from 1904, it is mentioned as the Kremlin Gates.

In 1784, during the first major renovation of the Kremlin, the Odoevsky Gate Tower was topped with a turret with a dome and a spire, on which an eagle was placed. This was an expression of gratitude from the people of Tula to Empress Catherine II, who for the first time in the history of the Tula Kremlin allocated state funds for the restoration of the monument.

Over time, the appearance of the emblem on the tower changed. In 1918, a symbol of the new state of workers and peasants, the hammer and sickle, was installed on the Odoevsky Tower, which was replaced in 1965 with a gilded metal flag. In May 1969, the coat of arms of the city of Tula appeared here.