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Living Computers: Museum + Labs (LCM+L) was a computer and technology museum at 2245 1st Avenue South in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, it opened to the public on October 25, 2012, and was permanently closed by the Paul Allen Estate in June 2024.

The museum exhibited vintage computers spanning mainframes, minicomputers, and microcomputers, most configured for interactive use either through time-sharing operating systems or single-user interfaces. Remote users could Telnet into selected systems over the internet. A later expansion added hands-on displays covering self-driving cars, the Internet of things, big data, and robotics.

LCM+L suspended operations in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic[1] and did not reopen. In June 2024 the estate announced permanent closure. A portion of the collection was auctioned by Christie’s in August–September 2024, raising $3,635,982;[2] the remainder was distributed to the Interim Computer Museum in Tukwila, Washington and the Mimms Museum of Technology and Art in Roswell, Georgia.[3][4]

Collections and exhibits

The collection consisted of publicly donated items and Paul Allen’s personal collection. Working computers on display included one supercomputer, seven mainframes, 10 minicomputers, and over three dozen microcomputers.[5]

Various artifacts from the museum appeared in television productions including Mad Men[6] and Halt and Catch Fire.[7]

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

Computers

Manufacturer Model Type Year Introduced Available for public use Telnet access[8]
Amazon Kindle 1[citation needed] hand-held 2007 Yes No
Amiga 500[citation needed] microcomputer 1987 Yes No
Apple Apple 1[citation needed] microcomputer 1976 Yes No
Apple II[9] microcomputer 1977 Yes No
Apple IIe[9] microcomputer 1983 Yes No
Apple III[citation needed] microcomputer 1980 Yes No
Apple Lisa 2[9] microcomputer 1984 Yes No
Apple iMac G3[citation needed] microcomputer 1998 Yes[citation needed] No
Apple Macintosh SE[9] microcomputer 1987 Yes No
Apple Power Mac G4[citation needed] microcomputer 1999 Yes No
AT&T DMD 5620 / 3B2[citation needed] minicomputer 1983 Yes Yes
Atari 2600[citation needed] video game console 1977 Yes No
Atari 400[9] microcomputer 1979 Yes No
Atari 1040 ST[9] microcomputer 1985 Yes No
Columbia Data Products MPC 1600[citation needed] microcomputer 1982 Yes No
Commodore PET[9] microcomputer 1977 Yes No
Commodore 64[9] microcomputer 1982 Yes No
Compaq DeskPro 386S[9] microcomputer 1989 Yes No
Compaq Portable[9] microcomputer 1983 Yes No
Control Data CDC 6500[9] mainframe 1967 No Yes
Control Data DD60 monitor operator console 1964 No No
Control Data 405 card reader peripheral 1964 No No
Control Data CDC 679-6 magnetic tape transport peripheral 1964 No No
Cray Cray-1[10] mainframe 1975 No No
Cromemco Z-2D[9] microcomputer 1978 Yes No
Data General Nova[9] minicomputer 1969 Yes No
DEC PDP-7[9] minicomputer 1964 No No
DEC PDP-8/E[9] minicomputer 1970 Yes No
DEC PDP-10 KA10 (DECsystem-10)[9] mainframe 1968[11] No No
DEC PDP-10 KI10 (DECsystem-10)[9] mainframe 1971 No No[citation needed]
DEC PDP-10 KL10 (DECSYSTEM-2065)[9] mainframe 1974 Yes Yes
DEC PDP-10 KL10 (DECSYSTEM-1095)[9] mainframe 1974 Yes Yes
DEC PDP-10 KS10 (DECSYSTEM-2020)[9] mainframe 1979 Yes Yes[citation needed]
DEC PDP-11/70[9] minicomputer 1975 Yes Yes
DEC PDP-12[9] minicomputer 1969 No No
DEC VAX-11/780-5[9] minicomputer 1982 Yes Yes
DEC VT131[citation needed] terminal 1981 Yes[citation needed] No
Dell Dimension XPS B733[9] microcomputer 1999 Yes No
E.S.R. Digi-Comp II reproduction[citation needed] toy computer 1965 (original patent); 2012 (reproduction) Yes No
Honeywell 6180 DPS-8/M maintenance panel and Multics emulator[9] peripheral; emulation of mainframe 1973 (mainframe) No No
IBM System/360 Model 30 mainframe mainframe 1964 No No
IBM System/360 Model 91 front panel[citation needed] peripheral 1966 No No
IBM 029 card punch[citation needed] peripheral 1964 Yes[citation needed] No
IBM 4361[9][failed verification] mainframe 1983 Yes Yes
IBM Personal Computer 5150[9] microcomputer 1981 Yes No
IBM PCjr[9] microcomputer 1984 Yes No
IBM PC/AT[9] microcomputer 1984 Yes No
IMLAC Corporation PDS-1 “sImlac” emulator[9] emulation of minicomputer 1970s (minicomputer); 2017 (emulator) Yes No
IMSAI 8080[9] microcomputer 1975 Yes No
Interdata 7/32[9] minicomputer 1974 Yes Yes[citation needed]
MITS Altair 8800[9] microcomputer 1975 Yes No
Microsoft PixelSense[9] microcomputer 2007 Yes No
NeXT NeXTcube[citation needed] microcomputer 1990 Yes No
Nintendo NES-101[citation needed] video game console 1993 Yes No
Osborne Executive[9] microcomputer 1982 Yes No
PLATO Terminal V[citation needed] microcomputer 1976 Yes No
Processor Technology Sol-20[9] microcomputer 1976 Yes No
Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 4[9] microcomputer 1983 Yes No
Sun Microsystems 3/160[9] microcomputer 1986 Yes No
Tandy 1000[9] microcomputer 1984 Yes No
Tandy Color Computer 3[citation needed] microcomputer 1986 Yes No
Teletype Model 33[citation needed] terminal 1963 No No
Teletype Model 35[citation needed] terminal 1963 No No
Teletype Model 37[citation needed] terminal 1968 No No
Texas Instruments Speak & Spell Compact[citation needed] hand-held 1982 Yes No
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A[citation needed] microcomputer 1981 Yes No
Xerox Sigma 9[9] mainframe 1971 Yes Yes
Xerox Alto[9] minicomputer 1973 Yes No
Xerox Alto “ContrAlto” simulator[9] emulation of minicomputer 1973 (minicomputer); 2016 (emulator) Yes No
XKL TOAD-1[9] mainframe 1995 Yes No
XKL TOAD-2[9] mainframe 2005 Yes Yes

History

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

LCM+L originated as PDPplanet.com, launched by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen on January 9, 2006. The site allowed users to Telnet into vintage devices and experience timesharing computing on equipment from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and XKL.[12] Through the site, users around the world could request a login and Telnet into systems from XKL, DEC, IBM, Xerox Sigma, AT&T, and CDC.[13]

The museum opened to the public on October 25, 2012, under the name Living Computer Museum, at 2245 1st Avenue South in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle.[5] Visitors could interact with a collection of mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and peripherals.[14] On November 18, 2016, the institution renamed itself Living Computers: Museum + Labs and expanded its scope to include contemporary technologies alongside its vintage collection.[15]

The museum suspended public access in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic[1] and remained closed through the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions.[16] In June 2024, the Paul Allen Estate announced permanent closure and stated that most of the collection was owned by the estate rather than the museum.[17] A portion of the collection was consigned to Christie’s.[18] The online auction, held August 23 to September 12, 2024 as part of the Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection series,[19] raised $3,635,982.[2] The remainder of the collection was divided between the Interim Computer Museum in Tukwila, Washington[3] and the Mimms Museum of Technology and Art in Roswell, Georgia.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b “LIVING COMPUTERS: MUSEUM + LABS IS CLOSING FOR NOW”. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b “Firsts: The History of Computing from the Paul G. Allen Collection”. Christie’s. Archived from the original on March 30, 2026. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  3. ^ a b “Frequently Asked Questions”. Interim Computer Museum. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  4. ^ a b “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.
  5. ^ a b “Home – Living Computer Museum”. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  6. ^ “Fashion and Style: Episode 704: Mad Men: The Monolith”. AMC. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ “Request a login”. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar “Vintage Computers”. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  10. ^ Miller, Michael J. (August 17, 2017), “Visiting the Living Computers Museum”, PC Magazine
  11. ^ “PDP10 manual” (PDF). December 1968.
  12. ^ “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). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  13. ^ “Application for a Guest Account on the Living Computers: Museum + Labs”. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  14. ^ “Seattle’s Living Computer Museum tempts tech tourists”. USA Today. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  15. ^ Schlosser, Kurt (October 25, 2016). “Paul Allen’s Living Computers: Museum + Labs rebranded and expanded to better ‘ignite curiosity’“. GeekWire. Archived from the original on September 14, 2025.
  16. ^ Bumpus, Kayvon (September 25, 2022). “Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum remains closed after years, despite lifted COVID restrictions”. The Seattle Collegian.
  17. ^ Schlosser, Kurt (June 25, 2024). “Seattle’s Living Computers Museum logs off for good as Paul Allen estate will auction vintage items”. GeekWire. Archived from the original on March 4, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  18. ^ “Inside the historic computer collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen”. Christie’s. July 8, 2024. Archived from the original on January 16, 2026.
  19. ^ “Gen One: Innovations from the Paul G. Allen Collection”. Christie’s. Archived from the original on January 17, 2026. Retrieved July 29, 2025.

Further reading