Century Tower is located at 182 West Lake Street at the northeast corner of Lake and Wells Streets. It is in between the New East Side and Loop neighborhoods of Chicago. The building is highly accessible as it is located mere feet from the tracks of the L’s downtown loop.

Before Century Tower’s construction, the lot where Century Tower now stands was the location of the third Robbins Building constructed in 1872. The Robbins Buildings were a series of three structures commissioned by Allen Robbins. All three perished in the Great Chicago Fire. Even before the construction of the Robbins Building, the 182 West Lake Street was a building owned by John Sexton and Company, a wholesale grocery firm.