The museum was designed by Phoenix architect Herbert H. Green who designed a number of Spanish Colonial style residences in Phoenix. Completed in 1928, the building had two floors and a small basement. It was built around a courtyard with eleven galleries, a library and an auditorium. It also had a small one bedroom apartment for a caretaker. The building and furnishings cost approximately $60,000.

Newspaper articles from the 1930s described the exhibits in the galleries. It appears that in 1930 installation had not been completed on all of the upstairs galleries. One article written in 1937 showed some of the cultural arts a visitor might see. It is clear from records and news articles that the Heards planned the museum to have an international scope. In 1930, the museum was open to the public every day except Sunday from 10:00-4:00 and was closed during the summer.

Click on the galleries in the map below for more information.