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Living Computers: Museum + Labs

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Living Computers: Museum + Labs
LCM+L Logo
Exterior of the museum
Map
EstablishedOctober 25, 2012 (2012-10-25)
DissolvedJune 2024 (2024-06)
Location2245 1st Avenue South
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates47°34′57″N 122°20′05″W / 47.582487°N 122.334708°W / 47.582487; -122.334708
TypeComputer museum
Key holdingsPDP-10, IBM Mainframes, Apple 1, PLATO
FounderPaul Allen
CuratorAaron Alcorn
Public transit access
King County Metro, Link light rail
ParkingOnsite and Street Parking
Websitewww.livingcomputers.org

Living Computers: Museum + Labs (LCM+L) was a computer and technology museum located in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. LCM+L showcased vintage computers which provided interactive sessions, either through time-sharing operating systems or single-user interfaces. This gave users a chance to actually use the computers online or in-person in the museum. An expansion had added direct touch experiences with contemporary technologies such as self-driving cars, the internet of things, big data, and robotics. LCM+L had also hosted a wide range of educational programs and events in their state-of-the art classroom and lab spaces.

According to an archived version of LCM+L's website, their goal was "to breathe life back into our machines so the public can experience what it was like to see them, hear them, and interact with them. We make our systems accessible by allowing people to come and interact with them, and by making them available over the Internet."[1]

The museum closed in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Part of its collection was auctioned off,[3] and the rest was split between two museums.[4][5]

History

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Harry Garland and Paul Allen at an event honoring computer pioneers at the museum in April 2013

LCM+L (originally known as Living Computer Museum, and before that, PDPplanet.com) was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, on January 9, 2006. Through PDPplanet, users were able to Telnet into vintage devices and experience timesharing computing on equipment from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and XKL.[6]

Users around the world could request a login through the LCM+L website and telnet into systems from XKL, DEC, IBM, Xerox Sigma, AT&T, and CDC.[7]

The museum opened to the public on October 25, 2012, and guests could visit in person to interact with the collection of mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers and peripherals the museum had on display.[8] Various and changing exhibits in the museum showed how much computers and technology had changed over the last 50 years and were changing still.[9] In 2013, Seattle Weekly voted the museum the "Best Geeky Museum" because it highlighted "an essential part of Seattle binary history - the founding of Microsoft and its role in establishing Seattle as a tech-driven industry".[10]

On November 18, 2016, the institution changed its name to Living Computers: Museum + Labs to reflect its enlarged goals of igniting curiosity through direct touch experiences with contemporary technologies as well as vintage computers.[11]

The museum closed in February 2020 and did not reopen afterward due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] In June 2024, The Paul Allen Estate announced that the museum would be permanently closed. Some of the museum's collection, most of which was owned by the Estate and not the museum itself, was auctioned off[13] by Christie's.[14] The auction was held online from 23 August to 12 September 2024 and raised $3,635,982[3] as part of the Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection auction series.[15] The rest of the collection was split between The Interim Computer Museum[4] in Tukwila, Washington and the Mimms Museum of Technology and Art[5] in Roswell, Georgia.

Collections and exhibits

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The collection consists of publicly donated items and Paul Allen's personal collection. The working computers on display included one supercomputer, seven mainframes, 10 minicomputers, and over three dozen microcomputers.[8]

Various artifacts from the museum were borrowed and featured in TV shows such as Mad Men[16] and Halt and Catch Fire.[17]

A roughly 180° panorama of the "conditioned" room at the Living Computer Museum containing mainframes and large minicomputers

Computers

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ManufacturerModelTypeYear IntroducedAvailable for public useTelnet access[18]
AmazonKindle 1[citation needed]hand-held2007YesNo
Amiga500[citation needed]microcomputer1987YesNo
AppleApple 1[citation needed]microcomputer1976YesNo
AppleII[19]microcomputer1977YesNo
AppleIIe[19]microcomputer1983YesNo
AppleIII[citation needed]microcomputer1980YesNo
AppleLisa 2[19]microcomputer1984YesNo
AppleiMac G3[citation needed]microcomputer1998Yes[citation needed]No
AppleMacintosh SE[19]microcomputer1987YesNo
ApplePower Mac G4[citation needed]microcomputer1999YesNo
AT&TDMD 5620 / 3B2[citation needed]minicomputer1983YesYes
Atari2600[citation needed]video game console1977YesNo
Atari400[19]microcomputer1979YesNo
Atari1040 ST[19]microcomputer1985YesNo
Columbia Data ProductsMPC 1600[citation needed]microcomputer1982YesNo
CommodorePET[19]microcomputer1977YesNo
Commodore64[19]microcomputer1982YesNo
CompaqDeskPro 386S[19]microcomputer1989YesNo
CompaqPortable[19]microcomputer1983YesNo
Control DataCDC 6500[19]mainframe1967NoYes
Control DataDD60 monitoroperator console1964NoNo
Control Data405 card readerperipheral1964NoNo
Control DataCDC 679-6 magnetic tape transportperipheral1964NoNo
CrayCray-1[20]mainframe1975NoNo
CromemcoZ-2D[19]microcomputer1978YesNo
Data GeneralNova[19]minicomputer1969YesNo
DECPDP-7[19]minicomputer1964NoNo
DECPDP-8/E[19]minicomputer1970YesNo
DECPDP-10 KA10 (DECsystem-10)[19]mainframe1968[21]NoNo
DECPDP-10 KI10 (DECsystem-10)[19]mainframe1971NoNo[citation needed]
DECPDP-10 KL10 (DECSYSTEM-2065)[19]mainframe1974YesYes
DECPDP-10 KL10 (DECSYSTEM-1095)[19]mainframe1974YesYes
DECPDP-10 KS10 (DECSYSTEM-2020)[19]mainframe1979YesYes[citation needed]
DECPDP-11/70[19]minicomputer1975YesYes
DECPDP-12[19]minicomputer1969NoNo
DECVAX-11/780-5[19]minicomputer1982YesYes
DECVT131[citation needed]terminal1981Yes[citation needed]No
DellDimension XPS B733[19]microcomputer1999YesNo
E.S.R.Digi-Comp II reproduction[citation needed]toy computer1965 (original patent); 2012 (reproduction)YesNo
Honeywell6180 DPS-8/M maintenance panel and Multics emulator[19]peripheral; emulation of mainframe1973 (mainframe)NoNo
IBMSystem/360 Model 30 mainframemainframe1964NoNo
IBMSystem/360 Model 91 front panel[citation needed]peripheral1966NoNo
IBM029 card punch[citation needed]peripheral1964Yes[citation needed]No
IBM4361[19][failed verification]mainframe1983YesYes
IBMPersonal Computer 5150[19]microcomputer1981YesNo
IBMPCjr[19]microcomputer1984YesNo
IBMPC/AT[19]microcomputer1984YesNo
IMLAC CorporationPDS-1 "sImlac" emulator[19]emulation of minicomputer1970s (minicomputer); 2017 (emulator)YesNo
IMSAI8080[19]microcomputer1975YesNo
Interdata7/32[19]minicomputer1974YesYes[citation needed]
MITSAltair 8800[19]microcomputer1975YesNo
MicrosoftPixelSense[19]microcomputer2007YesNo
NeXTNeXTcube[citation needed]microcomputer1990YesNo
NintendoNES-101[citation needed]video game console1993YesNo
OsborneExecutive[19]microcomputer1982YesNo
PLATOTerminal V[citation needed]microcomputer1976YesNo
Processor TechnologySol-20[19]microcomputer1976YesNo
Radio ShackTRS-80 Model 4[19]microcomputer1983YesNo
Sun Microsystems3/160[19]microcomputer1986YesNo
Tandy1000[19]microcomputer1984YesNo
TandyColor Computer 3[citation needed]microcomputer1986YesNo
TeletypeModel 33[citation needed]terminal1963NoNo
TeletypeModel 35[citation needed]terminal1963NoNo
TeletypeModel 37[citation needed]terminal1968NoNo
Texas InstrumentsSpeak & Spell Compact[citation needed]hand-held1982YesNo
Texas InstrumentsTI-99/4A[citation needed]microcomputer1981YesNo
XeroxSigma 9[19]mainframe1971YesYes
XeroxAlto[19]minicomputer1973YesNo
XeroxAlto "ContrAlto" simulator[19]emulation of minicomputer1973 (minicomputer); 2016 (emulator)YesNo
XKLTOAD-1[19]mainframe1995YesNo
XKLTOAD-2[19]mainframe2005YesYes


References

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  1. ↑ "What is Living Computer Museum?". Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ↑ "LIVING COMPUTERS: MUSEUM + LABS IS CLOSING FOR NOW". Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Firsts: The History of Computing from the Paul G. Allen Collection". Christie's. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Frequently Asked Questions". Interim Computer Museum. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Computer Museum of America Acquires Collection from Living Computers Museum and Estate of Paul G. Allen". Mimms Museum of Technology and Art. September 12, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Paul G. Allen Launches Web Site Dedicated to Early Computers; PDPplanet.com Site Celebrates Historic Mainframes and Minicomputers | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com (Press release). Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Application for a Guest Account on the Living Computers: Museum + Labs". Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Home - Living Computer Museum". Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Seattle's Living Computer Museum tempts tech tourists". USA Today. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Best Geeky Museum: Living Computer Museum". Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  11. ↑ Schlosser, Kurt (October 25, 2016). "Paul Allen's Living Computers: Museum + Labs rebranded and expanded to better 'ignite curiosity'". GeekWire.
  12. ↑ Bumpus, Kayvon (September 25, 2022). "Paul Allen's Living Computers Museum remains closed after years, despite lifted COVID restrictions".
  13. ↑ Schlosser, Kurt (June 25, 2024). "Seattle's Living Computers Museum logs off for good as Paul Allen estate will auction vintage items". GeekWire. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Inside the historic computer collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen". Christie's. July 8, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection". Christie's. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Fashion and Style: Episode 704: Mad Men: The Monolith". AMC. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015.
  17. ↑ McCracken, Harry (August 27, 2016). "Welcome To 1986: Inside "Halt And Catch Fire's" High-Tech Time Machine". Fast Company. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Request a login". Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 "Vintage Computers". Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  20. ↑ Miller, Michael J. (August 17, 2017), "Visiting the Living Computers Museum", PC Magazine
  21. ↑ "PDP10 manual" (PDF). December 1968.

Further reading

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