The Living Computer Museum

98134 Seattle, WA, United States of America (USA) (Washington)

Exhibits Overview

The Living Computer Museum collection presents the meaningful milestones in the evolution of computers and how people use them. The collection was assembled by Microsoft cofounder Paul G. Allen as a way to preserve the history that put him and Bill Gates on the path to founding the company. Unlike many museums, the LCM collection includes computers and equipment that are painstakingly restored and in fully useable condition. These systems live – they respond to you in ways that foreshadow the digital miracles often taken for granted today.

The collection demonstrates the evolution and growth of computing: increasing capabilities coupled with decreasing size and cost. It is a story of easier access to information, as machines once reserved for governments, corporations and universities gave way to computers we now call "personal" and beyond, to the tablet and smartphone that now dominate the information landscape.

Nearly all the computers in the LCM collection are interactive and conversational. Some were intended to serve one user at a time, while others provided a shared resource for dozens or even hundreds of concurrent users. But they all share one characteristic: They answer a question as soon as you ask it.
 

Computer Renovation

The primary mission of the Living Computer Museum is to maintain running computer systems of historical importance. The rest of our work flows from that premise, as we preserve the original environments of digital documents and contribute to fact-based discussions regarding the construction and behavior of vintage computer systems.

The term "restoration" is used by most museums to describe a process of preparing an artifact through cleaning and sometimes structural reinforcement in order to stabilize it for preservation. We employ the term "renovation" to encompass the work done by our engineers to revitalize the collection's computers so that visitors can not only see them, but also experience them as they were originally used.

Renovation is an ongoing part of our work, and visitors can watch the engineers in action as they carefully study, repair and revive the computers in their care. Each restoration project includes careful research about the system to ensure authenticity and safeguard against avoidable risk as the machines are brought back into service.
 

Tours

A guided tour is included in your admission price and is a great way to learn about all of the vintage computers at the Living Computer Museum. A guided tour will take between 45 minutes to an hour and will walk you through the museum exhibits.

The tours take place every hour at 15 minutes past the hour; however this can vary depending on the number of visitors. Please check at the admissions desk when you purchase your ticket.

The museum closed

In June 2024, The Paul Allen Estate announced that the museum would be permanently closed and that the museum's collection, most of which was owned by the Estate and not the museum itself, would be auctioned off by Christie's.

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