Audubon Terrace, New York City##&&New York City##&&Attractions##&&Map##&&Tours##&&Hotels##&&Facts##&&Buildings##&&Posters##&&Pictures##&&A View On Cities##&&New York City##&&New York Attractions##&&Audubon Terrace##&&Loading...##&&Statue of Liberty##&&Brooklyn Bridge##&&Times Square##&&Empire State Building##&&Central Park##&&Chrysler Building##&&Grand Central Terminal##&&Rockefeller Center##&&Metropolitan Museum of Art##&&Fifth Avenue##&&Memorial##&&MoMA##&&Wall Street##&&Ellis Island##&&United Nations HQ##&&Bryant Park##&&High Line##&&Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum##&&Flatiron Building##&&Guggenheim Museum##&&Lincoln Center##&&Woolworth Building##&&Madison Square##&&South Street Seaport##&&Metlife Tower##&&Tudor City##&&Madison Square Garden##&&New York Public Library##&&St. Patrick's Cathedral##&&Grant's Tomb##&&Coney Island##&&Columbus Circle##&&Museum of Natural History##&&Plaza Hotel##&&More New York Attractions...##&&Audubon Terrace##&&Audubon Terrace Historic District##&&Info##&&Location/Map##&&Nearby##&&Photos##&&Rating##&&votes##&&votes##&&Links##&&-##&&hispanicsociety.org##&&-##&&artsandletters.org##&&Audubon Terrace is a cultural complex in 
Washington Heights, Manhattan. The complex was conceived in the early 
twentieth century by the philanthropist and Hispanophile Archer Milton 
Huntington.##&&Audubon Terrace##&&Huntington had inherited a large fortune from his stepfather, the 
railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington. Archer Huntington dedicated 
his life to the arts, philanthropy, and the study of the Hispanic 
culture.##&&A new Cultural Center##&&In Huntington founded the Hispanic Society of America. He asked his
 cousin Charles Pratt Huntington to design a building for the society. 
But Archer had bigger plans. Het saw the Hispanic Society as just the 
first of a cluster of cultural institutions so he asked his cousin to 
draw up a master plan for a cultural and research center. Archer hoped 
to promote collaboration between institutions by establishing them on a 
single site.##&&Courtyard##&&Huntington chose the former estate of the naturalist John James Audubon 
as the site for the new cultural center. The estate was located near the
 northern edge of the city, in what was then the rural neighborhood of 
Washington Heights. Huntington hoped that other institutions would 
follow him north to form a large cultural and educational hub.##&&He invited several institutions to move to Audubon Terrace, even 
providing funds. By when the complex was completed, six different 
institutions, including several specialized museums, were housed here, 
all of which had connections to Archer Huntington.##&&Buildings and Architecture##&&Boricua College##&&The first building opened in and housed the American Numismatic 
Society. It was soon followed by the Hispanic Society of America. In 
 the Spanish-language Church of Our Lady of Esperanza was built
 and the Museum of the American Indian joined in##&&All these buildings were designed by Charles P. Huntington in the same 
architectural style to symbolize a sense of unity and cooperation 
between the different institutions. Later buildings by other architects 
were added in the same style, a combination of Beaux-Arts and Italian 
Renaissance. The granite and limestone buildings are elaborately 
decorated with Ionic columns and pediments, reliefs and ornaments.##&&American Academy of##&&Arts and Letters##&&In the American Academy of Arts and Letters moved into a building 
designed by William Mitchell Kendall, of the architectural firm of 
McKim, Mead & White. An addition for a library and gallery was 
designed by Cass Gilbert and opened in##&&Institutions##&&While Archer Huntington had hoped to persuade other institutions to move
 to the periphery of Manhattan - where more space was available - the 
opposite happened: over time most cultural institutions gravitated 
toward Manhattan's midtown. It turned out that the Audubon Terrace was 
too remotely located and its museums suffered from low attendance.##&&As a result several institutions relocated. The first to move out was 
the American Geographical Society, which was founded in and boasts##&&Former building of the##&&Numismatic Society##&&one of the world's largest collections of maps. In the society's 
library moved to Milwaukee. Today its premises are occupied by the 
Boricua College, a bilingual college.##&&The Museum of the American Indian, now part of the Smithsonian 
institution, was founded in In a part of its collection moved
 to the##&&National Museum of the American Indian##&&in##&&Washington, DC##&&The rest of its collection is now on display in the##&&Custom House##&&in downtown New York.##&&The American Numismatic Society, founded in has a collection of 
more than objects, including coins, medals and paper money. It 
moved in to downtown Manhattan.##&&El Cid Monument##&&The American Academy of Arts and Letters, founded in now occupies 
three of Audubon Terrace's buildings. The academy is an honor society of
 architects, composers, artists and writers. It counted Theodore 
Roosevelt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Mark Twain among its original 
members. The academy exhibits art and manuscripts.##&&The main attraction of the Audubon terrace is the Hispanic Society of 
America, a free museum and reference library dedicated to the study of 
the Hispanic culture. Its rooms are decorated with carved paneling, 
majolica tiles and historic paintings. The museum has a collection of 
Hispanic art that includes furniture, ceramic objects, sculptures, 
textiles and paintings by Spanish painters including Goya, El Greco and 
Zurbarán. It also boasts a particularly large number of paintings by 
Joaquín Sorolla.##&&El Cid##&&El Cid##&&The buildings of the Audubon Terrace are arranged around a central 
courtyard. At its center, in front of the main building of the Hispanic 
Society of America, stands a monument honoring El Cid Campeador.##&&The bronze statue of El Cid astride his horse was created by Anna Hyatt 
Huntington, wife of Archer Huntington. The Spanish hero is rousing his 
troops to battle. Around the pedestal are four statues of warriors. Two 
sculpture groups of deer complete the monumental composition.##&&To the left and right of the Monument to El Cid are large reliefs of Don
 Quixote and Boabdil. In the courtyard are also several animal 
sculptures, all the work of Anna Hyatt Huntington.##&&Next:##&&Museum of the City of New York##&&Subway##&&157th St (1)##&&Location##&&Broadway at West 155th Street##&&Washington Heights##&&nyc##&&x##&&Press ESC to close##&&powered by##&&www.aviewoncities.com