National Museum of the American Indian

Story

The George Gustav Heye Center is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in Manhattan, New York City. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Center features contemporary and historical exhibits of art and artifacts by and about Native Americans.HistoryThe center is named for George Gustav Heye, who began collecting Native American artifacts in 1903 and opened the Museum of the American Indian on Audubon Terrace in upper Manhattan in 1922. That museum closed in 1994 and part of the collection is now housed at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House on Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan. The Beaux Arts-style building, designed by architect Cass Gilbert, was completed in 1907. It is a designated National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark. The center’s exhibition and public access areas total about 20000sqft. The Heye Center offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.GalleriesThe permanent collection of the Heye Center is called Infinity of Nations, and is designed to show the scope of the Smithsonian's collection. Organized by geographic regions (including Central and South America), the exhibit displays over 700 items and crosses the line from ethnology to art. Multimedia interactions include audio and video, and feature commentary by historians on specific objects. The rotunda is frequently used as a performance space, and features murals reflecting the history of the building, done by Reginald Marsh. Other galleries include the Photography Gallery, Special Exhibit Galleries, Contemporary Galleries, the Haudenosaunee Discovery Room, the Resource Center Reference Library, a small theater (which screens daily films), and the museum store. The ground floor of the building houses the Diker Pavilion for Native Arts and Culture and the Education Center (referred to as the Tipi Room).