The architectural style was chosen by David M. Schwarz[2] to echo the design elements of the Hoover Dam, just 30 miles (48 km) to the southeast.

[5] The Smith Center features international music, and dance companies and is the home of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre.

The City of Las Vegas began separate plans around 2000 to build a downtown urban district called Symphony Park, which was selected as the site for the center.

[7][8] In 2010, it was announced that the Lied Discovery Children's Museum would move to the Smith Center, replacing an originally proposed 600-seat theater that was scrapped from the plans in 2008.

The building is a reinterpretation of Bertram Goodhue's 1922 design for the Nebraska State Capitol at Lincoln, and John & Donald Parkinson's 1929 Bullocks Wilshire in Los Angeles.

In addition, artwork by local artists from the Las Vegas Art Museum have been loaned to the center to be displayed.

[10][12][13][14] The three main venues at the Smith Center are the Reynolds Hall, Myron's Cabaret Jazz , and the Troesh Studio Theater, the first of which is located in its namesake building and the latter two in the Boman Pavilion.