The tower was built by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari in 1490 and served as the entrance to the economic part of the tsar's court, separated from the ceremonial area by a stone wall erected in 1499.

Interestingly, by the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1658, the Borovitskaya Tower was renamed Prechistenskaya in honor of the nearby Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist under the Bor. However, the old name of the tower has been preserved and has reached our days.

Initially, the tower was a powerful square structure topped with a wooden tent. In the 1680s, three diminishing squares, an open octagon, and a stone tent were built above it, giving the tower a pyramidal tiered shape. At that time, a side arrow slit was added to the tower, which featured a passage gate with an iron grate and a drawbridge over the Neglinnaya River. In the 18th century, during the repair of the tower, pseudo-Gothic elements were added to its decor. In 1812, during the explosion of the neighboring Vodovzvodnaya Tower, the top of the Borovitskaya tent collapsed. Between 1816 and 1819, the tower was restored under the guidance of O.I. Bove.

In 1848, the altar of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist under the Bor was moved to the Borovitskaya Tower, and the pseudo-Gothic decor was removed.

The main square of the tower inside is divided into two tiers with cylindrical vaults. The octagon opens into the cavity of the tent with cut-out windows, and all tiers are connected by a system of stairs within the walls. In the passage of the gate of the arrow slit, vertical grooves for the hers have been preserved.

The height of the tower to the star is 50.7 m, and with the star, it is 54.05 m.