Preserving Ether: the Birthplace of the Internet and the Interpretation of Information Age Technology

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Preserving Ether: the Birthplace of the Internet and the Interpretation of Information Age Technology PRESERVING ETHER: THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE INTERNET AND THE INTERPRETATION OF INFORMATION AGE TECHNOLOGY by MELISSA LEIGH IVEY (Under the Direction of Mark E. Reinberger) ABSTRACT There are few technological innovations that have impacted the daily lives of Americans as profoundly as the Internet. The origins of the Internet lay in the ARPANET, an experimental computer network developed in the late 1960s by Bolt, Beranek and Newman, a company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This thesis explores the issues surrounding the preservation and interpretation of Information Age sites and resources in general, and offers specific recommendations for the Bolt, Beranek and Newman site. The author argues that due to the ethereal nature of information technologies, methods commonly used to preserve and interpret technological history sites and resources will require modification to be successfully applied to those of the Information Age. Recommendations are based on the analysis of existing technological history sites, unique characteristics of Information Age sites and resources, and interpretive principles and programs. INDEX WORDS: Historic Preservation; Interpretation; Exhibits; Information Age; Technological History; Internet; ARPANET; Bolt, Beranek and Newman; Cambridge, Massachusetts. PRESERVING ETHER: THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE INTERNET AND THE INTERPRETATION OF INFORMATION AGE TECHNOLOGY by MELISSA LEIGH IVEY B.A., Vanderbilt University, 1996 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATHENS, GEORGIA 2003 © 2003 Melissa Leigh Ivey All Rights Reserved PRESERVING ETHER: THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE INTERNET AND THE INTERPRETATION OF INFORMATION AGE TECHNOLOGY by MELISSA LEIGH IVEY Major Professor: Mark E. Reinberger Committee: Wayde Brown Judith Wasserman Michael Callinen Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2003 iv DEDICATION In memory of my father, Curtis L. Ivey, Jr. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincerest thanks to Mark Reinberger for his long-distance assistance and patience with this project. I would also like to thank all of those who took time out of their busy schedules to provide interviews and share their resources with me, including Ed Rodley at the Museum of Science, Sally Zimmerman at the Cambridge Historical Commission, Sally Hild at the Cambridge Historical Society, and Joyce Kuzmin and Ray Tomlinson at BBN Technologies. Special thanks to Bob Krim at the Boston History Collaborative for inspiring me to pursue this topic and for providing me with an extraordinarily flexible work schedule while I completed it. Lastly, my eternal gratitude to Peter Wiley for his unconditional support, words of encouragement, patience, humor and strength. I could not have done this without him. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 EARLY HISTORY OF THE INTERNET ........................................................4 The ARPANET .......................................................................................4 Bolt, Beranek and Newman...................................................................10 Email .....................................................................................................19 2 CURRENT PRESERVATION AND INTERPRETATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL HISTORY.................................................................21 Historic Designation..............................................................................23 Interpretation .........................................................................................27 Case Study #1: Lowell National Historical Park...................................30 Case Study #2: National Museum of American History.......................40 Case Study #3: Museum of Science......................................................48 Summary Conclusion ............................................................................54 3 THE BOLT, BERANEK AND NEWMAN SITE: HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE .........................................................................................59 Statement of Significance......................................................................60 vii Description of Buildings .......................................................................64 4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESERVATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE BOLT, BERANEK AND NEWMAN SITE ................................69 Historic Designation..............................................................................69 On-Site Interpretive Programs...............................................................72 A Cambridge Technology Trail ............................................................82 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................88 WORKS CITED ................................................................................................................92 APPENDICES A Glossary of Network Terms.............................................................................95 B Selected Information Age Technological History Museums in the United States ...........................................................................................................97 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1: ENIAC computer...............................................................................................9 Figure 1.2: Early sketch of the ARPANET .........................................................................9 Figure 1.3: Bolt, Beranek and Newman’s IMP team.........................................................14 Figure 1.4: Early sketch of IMP-host connection ..............................................................18 Figure 1.5: Internet diagram ..............................................................................................18 Figure 2.1: “Birthplace of Silicon Valley”, California State Landmark............................25 Figure 2.2: Lowell’s Boott Cotton Mills Museum exterior ...............................................32 Figure 2.3: Lowell’s Boott Cotton Mills weave room exhibit...........................................33 Figure 2.4: Lowell’s Boott Cotton Mills main exhibit ......................................................33 Figure 2.5: Lowell’s interactive political debate display...................................................34 Figure 2.6: Lowell’s interactive cotton combing display ..................................................34 Figure 2.7: Lowell’s Suffolk Mill Turbine exhibit ............................................................35 Figure 2.8: Lowell’s restored boardinghouses...................................................................35 Figure 2.9: National Museum of American History exhibit entrance display...................42 Figure 2.10: National Museum of American History Main Street display........................43 Figure 2.11: National Museum of American History Time Magazine cover featuring nuclear threat......................................................................................................................45 Figure 2.12: National Museum of American History Computer display...........................48 Figure 2.13: Museum of Science “Ride the Byte” conceptual rendering..........................50 ix Figure 3.1: Bolt, Beranek and Newman Site Map .............................................................66 Figure 3.2: BBN Building, 10 Moulton Street...................................................................67 Figure 3.3: BBN Building, 20-26 Moulton Street .............................................................67 Figure 3.4: BBN Building #3—“the factory”....................................................................68 Figure 3.5: BBN Building #3 loading dock.......................................................................68 Figure 4.1: Cambridge Technology Trail: Possible Sites ..................................................84 Figure 4.2: Cambridge African-American Heritage Trail marker.....................................86 1 INTRODUCTION Few technological innovations have impacted the daily lives of individuals as significantly as the Internet. As of April 2002, approximately 166 million (60%) of all American households had Internet access1, and for many of those who are “online”, the Internet has revolutionized the way in which they communicate, access information, do business, and spend their leisure time. The birthplace of this technological wonder is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the office complex of technology firm, Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN). Virtually unknown to everyone with the exception of the occasional computer or technology enthusiast who has sought it out, the site is of great historical significance on the local, national and international levels as it is where the ARPANET, the conceptual and technological forerunner of the Internet, was built. As of today no action has been taken to have the site recognized as historically significant or to develop any type of interpretive programming either at the site or elsewhere.
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