Nearly six years after his passing, Blazers fans are still waiting to hear the long-term fate of his Portland Trail Blazers (as well as his other sports passion, the Seattle Seahawks). Whether inadvertently or intentionally, teams remain in limboproperty of Allen’s organization (now run by his sister Jody), is reportedly awaiting sale so the proceeds can be donated to charity. That could take a decade or more.
Meanwhile, the domino effect of Allen’s death, combined with minimal planning and no direction in the will, has led to other problems. They are most acutely felt in Allen’s hometown of Seattle. The beloved Cinerama theater has closed and sat vacant, with fears of permanent closure until SIFF reaches an agreement to reopen it.
Which brings us to the Living Computer Museum. Until recently, it was the premier place to explore the rich history of computing artifacts, including working, usable models of some of the world’s once most popular systems. If you’ve ever wanted to insert a 5.25-inch floppy disk into an original IBM PC, fire up a TI-99 4/A, check out a working mainframe or play a pristine model of Ms. Pac-Man, that was your location. It was clearly occupied by objects that played a key role in Paul Allen’s life. PC World did it a nice visit during PAX 2017.
But now, instead of leaving this legacy to future generations, the museum is being demolished, and everything The artifacts are sold at auction To the highest bidder. Most of the items will likely end up in the hands of a private collector, untouched by future generations. While the museum was clearly important to Allen, the legacy was much less so. Perhaps he simply never wrote his request into his will. Or perhaps it was a tax deduction for his toys. We’ll never know. But it’s gone now.
Even though the profits will go to charity (after Allen’s organizations have paid their salaries), any future museum would be far more expensive to build than the existing one. If a museum is ever rebuilt.
In the meantime, if you are visiting the Bay Area, you can visit the closest option, the exceptional Museum of the History of Computing in Mountain View. It’s only a ten hour drive from Portland.
So remember, my friends, to take the time to explain your wishes in your will.
