Organized in 1919, Las Vegas has remained the county seat of Clark County since its creation. Before the county was organized, civic leaders collected $1,800 and built the first courthouse in Las Vegas in 1905. The simple square structure was made of concrete and included a Mission Revival style parapet similar to that of Esmeralda County's courthouse. The first county meeting was held in the building in 1909.

In 1913, county officials hired Frederick DeLongchamps to design a larger courthouse. His Neo-Classical design incorporated southwestern influences, which would later be regarded as Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. The county hired Sacramento contractors Campbell and Turner to build the two-story structure for $46,400. Savage Heating and Plumbing supplied the utilities, which boosted the cost to over $50,000.

Completed in 1914, the exterior combined arched side windows on the first and second elevation and a Spanish style red tile roof. The second floor windows were separated with large Corinthian columns. Mission Revival arches decorated the front facade. After the county administration moved from the building, it served as a city hall and library before it was demolished in the late 1950s.

In 1958, architects Walter Zick and Harris Sharp were hired to design a new courthouse next to the former one. The powder-blue seven-story building of steel, glass, and concrete exhibited a modern International style. Unlike the former courthouse, the 1958 building presents a purely functional appearance, and was not intended to serve as a focal point of the community.

The county added a two-story structure and colonnade of scored concrete blocks in the 1980s. The style of the addition is referred to as "Brutalism," named after Peter Smithson's nickname of "Brutus," which was given to him for his likeness to the Roman figure. The Clark County courthouse remains the largest in the state.