Great tour in an under the radar Seattle museum. It's housed mainly on the 3rd floor of a working AT&T communications building and is open SUNDAYS only from 10-3. Be amazed by a century's worth of telephone equipment from the very first sending device to video phones from the 1964 World's Fair. Your tour guides are equal parts excited and surprised that you are there and able to explain how your call actually gets routed to Beechwood 45789. This is good for all ages, especially 15 and up. Work this into your weekend. read more

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This place was an absolute blast! If you have ever wondered how phones worked, have ever had a landline, or are just nerdy and into the way things were done prior to digital computers, you NEED to come here. It's in an old phone branch office, and the first floor is actually still a CenturyLink property; you'll need to walk around to the back, then take the elevator up to the 3rd floor, to start your tour. It's free admission, and the tours are free, but you should really donate because this place is so cool! The equipment on display ranges from the late 1800s to nearly what's in use today (fiber optics). All kinds of equipment, from switches, generators, diesel circuit breakers and fuses (multi-thousand amp fuses!) to handsets, field equipment, and cabling, and plenty of incredibly knowledgeable staff are on hand to talk to you about it all. What I didn't expect was that the tours would be so interactive. The first thing we did was sat down at an antique (I wouldn't say "ancient," because this one didn't require turning a crank - unlike some of the others we were able to try!) switchboard and were stepped through how to connect a phone call. We then were taken over to another display of electro-mechanical switching equipment from a company I'd never heard of, and didn't realize that AT&T/Bell kept human operators around as long as they did as sort of a marketing move - literally another company invented and marketed, successfully, a dial telephone system decades before Bell did, and it's also part of the reason that in movies and TV shows, when someone hangs up on you, you immediately get a dial tone. We then were shown a phone system that was specifically designed for the railroad companies (and had been donated by a rail worker that was tearing out old equipment; apparently it had been sitting in this guy's basement in prestine condition). After that, we made our way to a panel switch, that was originally engineered for the Seattle region and actually ran through the '60s, and is now the only panel switch to exist in the world! The people here are all so knowledgeable, kind, and genuinely enthusiastic about this equipment. You can't not get excited about it, even if you're not into telecom or electrical engineering. Not to mention, free off-street parking! read more

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This museum equipment that no other place. The fact that almost all of the equipment was fully functional is extremely impressive especially since some of it is almost 100 years old. read more

Anyone that has ever wondered how the telephone works should visit this museum. Actually, anyone that has ever used a landline NEEDS to visit the Connections Museum. Located on the third floor of a CenturyLink switching office/ building, the entrance to the museum is through the side of the building. There is free parking on site, which is a nice perk. I'll preface by telling you that this is a working museum. If you're expecting Smithsonian quality, you will be disappointed. The museum started by a group of telecom employees who recognized the change in telecom and wanted to preserve the art and technology for future generations to remember and study. Our tour guide was Collin and he is super knowledgeable and answered all my nerdy boyfriend's questions. It was so great to see the passion in Collin. He took the time to explain to layman like myself and showed us how it all started. The idea of having to educate the public what the dial tone is and how to operate a telephone is bizarre, to say the least. But visiting this museum will really give you a sense of time and appreciation on how far telecom has advanced. There is so much to see. So many things that you had never seen. It is a donation based museum, so please donate what you can. The docents are all volunteers that work on fixing these equipments on their own free time. They are also only opened on Sundays, so bear that in mind. Highly recommend it. read more

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Truly a hidden gem, a must do in Seattle! My partner found it while we were visiting a couple weeks ago and it was the highlight of our trip! The museum is only open on Sundays for a few hours. The building is pretty inconspicuous. I wouldn't have known there was a museum there if I wasn't looking for it. You walk into a room with an elevator that tells you to go to the 3rd floor, which seems like you're in a strange mission. It opens up into this room filled with equipment - floor to ceiling! A volunteer greets you and asks you about your knowledge, then caters your 1.5 hour tour to what you're interested in. It was so much fun to learn and test out everything. Yes - it all still works! After our tour, we spent more time walking around to look at everything else we didn't get to on the tour. We went to a few other expensive museums while we were there, and this was our favorite - and it's free/donation only?! I highly suggest donating if you can. Cash only at the museum but we donated through their website afterwards. 100% worth it! read more

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They have five stars across the board. Great way to spend 3 hours with the family. I've been to several phone museums and tours, this is the first one that had working switchboards and equipment. Seeing how things actually work was really interesting. Very camera friendly. The tour is lead by a volunteer who answers questions with enthusiasm. We made a small donation at the beginning but felt the tour was so good that we went back and left some more to thank them for a fun morning. read more

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Outstanding! This is hands-down *the best* interactive, hands-on museum that I have ever had the pleasure of going to. I'll keep it short. This isn't your typical museum with stuff in display cases that you can't touch. This is a full-scale WORKING telephone exchange system - correction, SEVERAL full-scale working telephone exchange systems. Equipment dates back to the original step-based dialing systems through the ranks of the various crossbar switching systems and into more modern PBXs from the 80s, 90s, and things that are still in use today. The staff are friendly knowledgeable folks, many of whom have made their careers in the telephone industry. All of them are eager to pass on the knowledge of how telephones work and the progress that the industry has seen over time. If you're in Seattle, you absolutely MUST visit this museum. They are only open one day per week (currently Tuesdays, soon to change to Sundays) for about 6 hours, and one additional day per month (currently a Sunday, soon to change to a Tuesday). PS: look through the pictures here on Yelp. I posted several including a video. PPS: Admission is FREE, but donations are encouraged - this equipment doesn't maintain itself. :) read more

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Best place to go for engineers! Specially about the telecommunication industry! Also great experience for tourist. 100% recommended. The first time there today. Although we think it was a little sketchy that they might close of weather is too hot, once you went in you understand why they have to close if it's too hot out. The outlook of the museum is not anything fancy. But the entrance is pretty cool and when you go up to level 3... You will be amazed. (Also the journey begins!) So we went to the level 3 entrance and signed in, and then the old guy called Les came ask us if we need a tour! We said yes and that's the best experience ever! He is funny and nice and he answered all our questions with no doubt (cause he has 50 years of experience in the telephone industry!). And actually turned on few things to show us how they used to use it in the old times. I don't know how to explain. It is something that you don't wanna miss in your life! I appreciated what we have right now more than ever after the tour today. Everyone gogogogogo! Me and my buds are def going back again for the level 2 tour! (P.S. They offered treats and drinks and the pink cookie is awesome!!!) read more

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Absolutely amazing! We had three tour guides and didn't even get to finish the whole museum. Jerry was my favorite. He showed us the different teletype machines. He showed us a wooden wall mounted telephone that was similar to the one his grandmother had on her farm in Minnesota. We will gladly tell our friends about this museum and will make a return trip in the near future. read more

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The Connections Museum is one of the best exhibits I've ever seen. Our tour guide (pretty much essential for understanding what you're seeing) said that this museum came about when the telephone monopoly was being broken up in the 1970s, and the backroom equipment was being completely replaced with much smaller switching machinery that could deal with the coming data explosion. This museum preserves multiple types of earlier switching hardware, going back to the earliest automated methods of making phone connections. Being able to dial a phone, and physically see and hear the individual lines connecting themselves via the nearest currently available wires is just amazing. Having saved this local backroom hardware, tying most of it together, and keeping it running is one of the best examples of museum curating and conservation that I've ever seen. I'm not an engineer, but seeing this stuff in action transcends all the details. Seriously, don't miss this. read more

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Totally unique, fun way to spend a Tuesday. The "museum" got a ton of charm - it takes up two floors of a telephone building along Marginal Way. It's filled with rows and rows of old telephone equipment, much of it working. Vintage telephones, teletype machines, radio transmitters, 10 foot tall banks of phone lines switches that must have about a million different wires going in and out. If you dig gadgets at all, you'll be in heaven. It's staffed by volunteers, most of whom are retirees from the phone company. They have these sweet uniform-style Museum of Communications shirts and are happy to give tours. Rich spent an hour showing us nifty things like how old-school phone connections worked (think the "Mad Men" phone room). It's amazing how incredibly complex these systems were. My wife, who is by no means a gadget-lover, really liked it as well (and was charmed by Rich's enthusiasm). Our two-year old son had fun looking at everything and talking on a variety of old-school phones. And the price is right - free! But it was so awesome i was compelled to leave some $$ in the donation jar. You'll want to do the same. I don't know if there's any other place quite like this on the West Coast, perhaps even in the U.S. A few other awesome pieces -- this vintage answering machine where you recorded the greeting onto a 45rpm record and this giant 10 feet long machine that generated the ring you heard when calling. read more

Certainly not for everyone, but for the nerdy ... it's heaven. Two floors of a very large building filled (neatly!) with telephone switching equipment -- most of it working -- and lots of other telecommunications-related stuff. And volunteer guides! Only open Tuesdays during the day, alas. read more

I like this place, so I guess that makes me another nerd cause I am definitely in nerd heaven when I visit. Thisplace is awesome. They have mostly telephones, telephone equipment and also other items built by Western Electric, like washing Machines and Sewing Machines. They also have a collection of vintage phone books. One item of note is a "FAX" machine from the 1930's that actually still works (sometimes) It creates the image in the receiving end by actually burning it on the paper - a stinky event, to be sure. They are only open on Tuesdays 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m, but the price is right - free with donations gladly accepted. read more

This is probably one of the coolest museums in Seattle. The sheer amount of interesting stuff here in insane. It's a shame that the facility is so small and remote, because they could totally use a new building. Where should I start? I went here with my friend, who used to work in the telecom industry. I never worked in the industry and most of the stuff here was WAY before my time. I learned so much about telephones in the two hours that I was here than I had ever learned before. The use of electro-mechanical switches and relays is insane and the clicks you hear from em have their own little charm. You can actually touch most of the things there AND see the wiring behind a lot of the items. It's really cool! It reminds me of the Living Computer Museum in SoDo. I will definitely be back here, and I'll arrive way before closing next time! read more

I'd heard about this place a while back, but never made it over until today. This is in part because it is open very limited hours -- Tuesdays 8:30-2:00 and the first Sunday of every month 11:30-4:00. Anyhow, finally having a Tuesday where my husband and I were both home from work -- and not because we were sick or it was a holiday -- we decided to head on over. Very glad we did. The museum is located in an old telephone communications building in Georgetown and showcases the history of the telephone from the Alexander Graham Bell days (late 1800s) until about 100 years later. There are rows and rows of old switchboards from various decades. Most of these are still working. And our tour guide -- who worked at this place for real back in the day -- was more than happy to demonstrate each. In addition, there are scores of old telephones, teletype machines, transmitters, cables, and a washing machine (don't ask). This is definitely a cool place to spend a couple of hours, see some fabulous olde gadgets, and learn a bit about how the simple act of placing a phone call evolved over time, read more

This museum is packed with telecom equipment from the early days though more recent decades. The volunteer workers are very knowledgable and enthusiastically demonstrate many pieces of equipment. Take a tour, you'll be amazed! read more

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Such a gem of a place run by volunteers. Fascinating history of telecommunications. Really wonderful for anyone interested in a slice of history. read more

Went there this morning and it was fantastic! The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable! David was my guide, and since I was the only one there, he offered me coffee and donuts, and took me on a 1.5 hour tour of the place. He encouraged hands-on interaction with the equipment (which I love), and was able to answer just about any question I had. I met two of the other engineers, Bob, and Bob, who were both great, too. All in all a great experience, and I'd love to go again! read more

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I was working in the Qwest building at the time, (now Century Link), and the gentleman working in the Museum asked us if we wanted to go in and take a look. So my dad and I went in and we were amazed with how much they had. All sorts of old telephones, radios and transmitters, phone switches and many more. It was really cool to see how the phones looked when they started and to how they have progressed over the years. It's free to go in and take a tour. I believe the guy showing us around said they are only open on Tuesdays. So if you interested in the history of communication then this is the place for you. read more

This museum is fantastic as a window on the world before miniaturization of telephone switching systems. The third floor is the first to visit, usually with a volunteer guide, with several different 'switches'- some that are one-of-a-kind anymore. I understand that as the south Seattle switches were modernized and Boeing put in their own PBX, the equipment in this building was scrapped leaving a couple of floors empty. Some long time Bell and other retirees proposed saving some other switches in the area from the same fate, and this space was made available. The equipment is now stand-alone, but operable. Also on the third floor is a veritable computer and test equipment museum. Then on the second floor you're self-guided through communications artifacts, from phone booths and wall mounts, to fiber optics. I even took my Cub Scouts here, and they were fascinated! Note that the daily opening has changed from Tuesdays to Sundays, 10-3. read more

You go there. You will see my dad. His name is RW Dickensheets Jr.

My friend brought me here today, and I had pretty low expectations. Boy was I unprepared for the awesome! Even before the tour started, I was overwhelmed by all the interesting stuff...floor to ceiling vintage equipment everywhere! And the tour was so wonderful. Our guide was a retired electrical engineer who had spent his career in the telephone industry and was overflowing with fascinating facts and great stories. Another great part I wasn't expecting, is that it wasn't just dusty antiques...much of it was still operable, with volunteers busily keeping it in shape. I'm definite going to go back, and bring friends. It was terrific. read more

What an awesome museum. It's only open Sunday's 10:00 am - 3:00 pm now, but if you can make it it's well worth it. Basically there is no museum like it anywhere in the world, fully working telecommunications hardware from the 1880s to the 1970s. If you are interested in computers it's definitely a must see, because so much of the equipment here is the basis for computing, and all the machines are essentially large scale electro mechanical versions computers (in that they count, search, store, process, etc). I wish I was a better reviewer / writer so I could more tell you how wonderful, unusual, rare, and delightful this place is. Also if you aren't technical don't worry, a lot of the stuff is pretty easy to understand, and even kids will like it since so much stuff moves and makes noises. read more

This museum has the coolest collection of telephone switching equipment! Well, it's probably the *only* museum in the area with all the neat things they have, but it is still mind boggling. The guides know their stuff and are happy to give you a demo of how it all works. From picking up the phone to dialing a call to answering, you can see (and hear!) everything that happens behind the scenes in phone company switching offices from different eras. Phones galore, from early battery-operated hand-cranked phones from the late 1800s to modern pay phones and other weird custom phones. Trace the history of the Teletype terminal from early Morse code machines--and they all still work. This place is straight out of an evil scientist's lab that you might see in an old movie. Schedule a good two hours or more to see everything. read more