Living Computers: Museum + Labs. 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According to an archived version of LCM+L's website, their goal was "to breathe life back into our machines so the public can experience what it was like to see them, hear them, and interact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."

The museum closed in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.

History

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.

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.

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. Various and changing exhibits in the museum showed how much computers and technology had changed over the last 50 years and were changing still. 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".

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.

The museum closed in February 2020 and did not reopen afterward due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Allen Estate announced the museum's permanent closure in June 2024 with plans to auction off some materials in the collection.

Dave Plummer posted to one of his YouTube channels a private tour of the museum. Plummer posted to X saying "Thanks to Christie's Auctions, I managed to get a private tour of the Living Computers Museum in Seattle.  It's been closed since Covid, and now everything is being auctioned off, so it's your last chance to see it all... and you can only see it here!"

Collections and exhibits
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.

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

Computers

References

Further reading 

 
 Engadget - Inside Seattle's invitation-only VR summit
 Engadget - We took a nostalgic look around Seattle's Living Computer Museum
 FC Technology - Welcome to 1986: Inside "Halt and Catch Fire's" High-Tech Time Machine
 Forbes - Bill Gates and Paul Allen Reunite and Recreate Classic 1981 Microsoft Photo
 Fox News Travel - Seattle's Living Computer Museum: not just for techies
 Geek Wire - Paul Allen's quest: A 32-bit computer built by Interdata
 Geek Wire - Go inside Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum with this 3D virtual tour
 LA Times - High-tech effort calls up smartphones for Ebola Battle
 NYT Bits - A Place where Old Computers Go to Live
 Oregon Live - Living Computer Museum offers a hands-on tour of the digital age
 Oregon Live - Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum pays homage to trailblazing PCs
 PDP-7 Lights Up the Living Computer Museum
 Seattle Times - Paul Allen's new Seattle computer museum not just for geeks
 Science Daily - Inside Seattle's Living Computer Museum
 Seattle Weekly - Best Geeky Museum: Living Computer Museum
 The Economist - Keeping skin out of the game
 The Stranger - Two Geeks and an Art Critic Visit Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum
 USA Today Video - Seattle's Living Computer Museum Tempts Tech Tourists
 WSJ Video - A Look Inside Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum

External links

 
  Pete Warden Blog: Why you should visit the Living Computer Museum in Seattle
Search the LCM+L Library and Archive Catalog!

Computer museums in the United States
Industry museums in Washington (state)
Museums established in 2006
Museums disestablished in 2024
Museums in Seattle
Science museums in Washington (state)
SoDo, Seattle
2006 establishments in Washington (state)