Brilliant Computer History Museum Renovated From a Silicon Valley Tech Building

It should come as no surprise in this day and age that there is a museum dedicated to the evolution of the computer and the cadre of intelligista who invented everything from the Babbage Engine to the iPad. The itinerant museum, which was originally founded in Massachusetts, finally has a home worthy of its impressive computational collection thanks in part to <a href="http://www.mh-a.com/architecture" target="_blank">Mark Horton Architecture</a>. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley and surrounded by Google, HP, Cisco and hundreds of other high tech firms, the <a href="http://www.computerhistory.org/">Computer History Museum</a> took over the former headquarters of Silicon Graphics and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/green-renovation">renovated</a> it into a futuristic, bright and spacious building, which now holds the world's largest collection of computer artifacts.

The museum got its start back in the 1960s when Gordon and Gwen Bell first exhibited their personal collection of computing devices in the lobby of the Digital Equipment Corporation in Boston.

From there the museum evolved and grew scooping up memorabilia and important artifacts and computing devices along the way.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/museum">museum</a> and its collection was relocated to Silicon Valley in 1999 and renamed as the Computer History Museum.

It wasn't until 2002 though that the museum found its home, fittingly, in the former headquarters of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Graphics">Silicon Graphics</a>, a computer hardware and software manufacturer that catered to the graphics industry.

But, the former high tech building was ill-suited as a museum and after a round of fundraising, the museum was able to do a major renovation.

Mark Horton Architecture led the two year, $19 million <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/green-renovation">renovation</a> with the help of Van Sickle &amp; Rolleri, Ltd. to upgrade the exhibits.

The renovation now includes a lobby, a cafe, a gift shop, a theater, multiple exhibitions spaces, event space and administrative spaces.

The original lobby, which was a confusing series of smaller spaces, was opened up and made into a grand public space that is brilliant and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/category/daylighting">naturally daylit</a>.

The museum is home to most significant and varied collection of computing hardware, software, documents and ephemera in the world.

This includes everything from a Babbage Difference Engine (designed in 1821), the first Google server, three examples of the rare Cray-1 supercomputer, all the way to a Pong game console, Palm Pilots, and even the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/ipad">iPad</a>.

The museum also plays host to a significant <a href="http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/" target="_blank">online collection</a> of photos, information, videos and anything that may have to deal with the history of computing.

When the museum reopened in January of 2011, it also opened its signature exhibition: <a href="http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/" target="_blank">Revolution: The First 2,000 Years of Computing</a>.

The Babbage Difference Engine.