Construction began in 1836, and both the City of Louisville and Jefferson County governments starting using it in 1842.

The building would be completed by metopes and plain friezes as a full entablature, and engaged pilasters regularly sequenced.

It was finally completed in 1860, with Albert Fink, a bridge engineer, and Charles Stancliff in charge.

Both the City of Louisville and Jefferson County governments began occupying a partially completed building in 1842.

Improvements to the building includes placing a statue of Henry Clay, designed by Joel T. Hart, on the main floors, and extensive renovations in the 1980s.

In front of the building is a statue of Thomas Jefferson by Moses Jacob Ezekiel, given to the city in 1901.

[10] The second, on the corner of Sixth and Jefferson and across from the Louisville City Hall, is a statue of King Louis XVI.

However, a year later during the Second French Revolution, it was moved to a military base for protection, then at Montpellier University, and finally in the municipal archives' storage basement.