[2][3][4] The courthouse is often seen in the TV series Perry Mason, when the title character parks his car on Hill Street to go inside the building.

The team of architects designed the courthouse simultaneously with the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration (1960), both buildings conceived as part of the monumental 1947 Civic Center Master Plan.

That plan also called for the extension of the Los Angeles Civic Center westward to incorporate the north end of the Bunker Hill area, which had been demolished, and created the east–west axis of civic buildings along what is today Grand Park.

The courthouse was opened by Chief Justice Earl Warren in October 31, 1958.

[2] Since 2019, the courthouse has gained prominence as the site of the conservatorship dispute of Britney Spears, and the corresponding #FreeBritney rallies which have taken place there.