Historic City Hall was first built as the first permanent Adams County Courthouse. Architect John James Huddart designed the courthouse in 1904, and builder A.B. McDonald completed it in 1906. Residents of Adams County took pride that their courthouse was finished before Arapahoe County's, though both counties had been established at the same time. Adams County was named for Alva A. Adams, who served as Governor of Colorado. In 1939, the courthouse was remodeled through a Public Works Administration project, part of the federal response begun in 1933 to the Great Depression through large-scale construction projects. The remodel nearly doubled the size of the original building, although it changed the structure's appearance. In 1976, the City of Brighton bought the building and its land for $175,000, and it served as Brighton's City Hall until 2009, when the city hall offices moved to 500 S. 4th Ave.