Las Vegas High School was the first high school in Las Vegas, and its location caused controversy at the time.

The two remaining buildings are listed as the Las Vegas High School Academic Building and Gymnasium on the National Register of Historic Places, representing Las Vegas' best example of art-deco architecture of the 1930s.

The school's outer appearance has been maintained but the interior has been changed since its original construction.

In 1992, plans for a magnet school for the arts were announced by Assistant Superintendent, and on August 23, 1993, Las Vegas High School was re-opened as the Las Vegas Academy for International Studies and Performing Arts by founding principal.

The CCSD Board of Trustees officially changed the school's name to Las Vegas Academy of the Arts in November 2014.