The Hispanic Society of America is a museum and reference library for the study of the arts and cultures of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. (Despite the name and the founder's intention, it has never functioned as a learned association.) Founded in 1904 by Archer M. Huntington, the institution is free and open to the public at its original location in a Beaux Arts building on Audubon Terrace (at 155th Street and Broadway) in the lower Washington Heights area of New York City in the United States.