Silicon City: Computer History Made in New York at The New-York Historical Society

Every 15 minutes, for nearly a year, 500 men, women, and children rose majestically into “the egg,” Eero Saarinen’s idiosyncratic theater at the 1964 World’s Fair. It was very likely their first introduction to computer logic. Computing was not new. But for the general public, IBM’s iconic pavilion was a high profile coming out party, and Silicon City will focus on this moment to introduce New York’s pivotal role in the Digital Age.

Using images, artifacts, interactives, and oral histories, the exhibition explores local innovations that were key to computer development, from vacuum tubes and punched cards to transistors, and highlights pioneering work after the 1964 World’s Fair, such as the computer graphics revolution born in New York City a decade later. Long before Silicon Valley became synonymous with all things digital, New York was a hub for imagining, developing, and selling the technology that ultimately reshaped entertainment, commerce, and daily life.