Opened in November 2000, the acclaimed Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture is an innovative display that makes accessible to the public in a single place nearly 40,000 objects from the museum's permanent collection (70 percent of the museum collection; catalog of collection online), ranging from George Washington's camp bed at Valley Forge to the world's largest collection of Tiffany lamps.

Encompassing 21,000 square feet and located on the Historical Society's fourth floor, the Luce Center houses collections long held in off-site storage. Information about this treasure trove of Americana is delivered in a variety of ways, ranging from thematic audio tours to interactive computer ports and mini-exhibition stations.