Paul Allen's Living Computers Museum + Labs Permanently Closes
TapTechNews June 26th news, the Living Computers Museum + Labs founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has announced its permanent closure. The museum is located in Seattle, Washington State and has been dedicated to collecting and showcasing computer equipment from various eras, from personal computers to large supercomputers since its opening in October 2012.
Although the museum has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the GeekWire website reported that after confirming with the Allen Estate Management Committee, the museum will not reopen.
Even though the museum's official website has been shut down, some of its information can still be retrieved through the web archive tool Wayback Machine. The website content shows the original intention of Paul Allen in founding this non-profit organization:
To exhibit the largest number in the world of fully operational classic computer equipment, paying tribute to the history of the development of computers. Covering categories such as supercomputers, mainframes, minicomputers and microcomputers.
To provide interactive experiences in fields such as robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, big data, the Internet of Things, video game production and digital art.
The laboratory provides hands-on computer science skills training workshops that comply with national and local standards.
The archive and computer restoration project is committed to preserving the important achievements in the history of the development of computers and keeping them for future generations to use.
According to GeekWire, even after the museum closed in 2020, there were still two full-time employees responsible for maintaining the operation of the exhibit computers.
TapTechNews noted that in addition to announcing the permanent closure of the museum, the Paul Allen Estate Management Committee also announced plans to auction some of the museum's rare exhibits, which are all owned by Allen himself.
This auction will be handled by the well-known auction house Christie's. The special auction Pioneering: The History of Computer Development will display a large number of historically significant computer equipment, including the 1971 DEC PDP-10: KI-10 computer. This computer is precisely the first computer that Allen and another Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, used before founding Microsoft. In the coming months, more information about the auction items from Allen's collection will also be announced.