A recessed main entrance along West San Carlos Street features two prominent art installations.

The two-story-tall mural, resembling a flock of birds in flight, consists of over 8,000 red, white, and black porcelain tiles manufactured by Royal Copenhagen.

[3] An interactive sculpture, Idea Tree by South Korean architect Soo-in Yang, stands in the plaza fronting the entrance.

Public surface parking lots are located across Almaden Boulevard to the west and across Viola Street surrounding the South Hall.

[10] With the opening of the Anaheim Convention Center in 1967, city officials became dissatisfied with Civic Auditorium and McCabe Hall and sought a replacement.

Based on a study by Stanford Research Institute in 1970, the city commissioned architect William Hedley and Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum to draw up plans for a "Community Plaza" superblock centered around a new convention hall.

The new San Jose Convention Center broke ground on November 18, 1975, and was dedicated by Mayor Janet Gray Hayes on September 22, 1977.

[10] The second and current San Jose Convention Center was approved by Mayor Tom McEnery in 1983 as part of an urban renewal project that displaced a low-income, Hispanic neighborhood.

A ballot measure to finance an expansion via a hotel tax failed to reach the required two-thirds majority to pass.

In June 2005, Team San Jose built the South Hall, a $6.77 million, blue and white tent, adding 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) of exhibit space.

[19] On October 10, 2013, the convention center completed the $130 million project, which added 125,000 square feet (11,600 m2) on the site of the former Martin Luther King Jr. Library.