Inside the museum

Working with the Organization of American States (OAS) and businesses with ties to Latin America, the Restoration Commission constructed the Pan American Center to offer every Latin American country an opportunity showcase the arts and artifacts of their cultures. These exhibits were created with purchases, gifts, and loans from Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Peru. The exhibits on the first floor displayed the culture of indigenous people and the thriving communities and empires that existed thousands of years prior to the invasion of Spain and England in the 16th and 17th centuries. These contained items such as decorated ceramics and textiles.

The exhibits on the first floor displayed the culture of indigenous people and the thriving communities and empires that existed thousands of years prior to the invasion of Spain and England in the 16th and 17th centuries. These contained items such as decorated ceramics and textiles.

The second-floor focused on artwork and artifacts from the post-contact period cultures of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean Basin. This colonial art exhibit featured 18th and 19th century works with predominantly religious themes. An important goal of the Pan American Center was to demonstrate how the designs and motifs seen on the first floor exhibits had disappeared with Spanish and British occupation, yet the skill and craftsmanship of native artists remained.