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Originally home to the Boice Dairy Farm, the site was purchased by IBM in February 1954 when the iconic American company needed a new facility to support its growing operations. The sprawling 208-acre campus, known as IBM Kingston, brought about massive changes in the housing, retail, and economic landscape of the area.
IBM Kingston opened in 1956. SAGE, the first real-time data processor, was developed here.
IBM Kingston opened in November 1956 one division for SAGE. The first real-time data processor in existence, SAGE took nine years and $18 billion to develop. It was built, tested, and the personnel were trained at the Kingston facility. One of the company’s other well known products, the IBM System 360, was a popular and successful mainframe assembled, tested, shipped, and supported in Kingston.
SAGE back panel assembly in 1957
Cover of an IBM instruction manual for the SAGE computer system c. 1959
The first new factory in the world designed solely for the manufacture of electric typewriters was opened in 1956 at IBM Kingston.
IBM electric typewriters nearing the end of the two-mile-long assembly line c. 1956
Advertising for IBM electric typewriters c. 1956
In July 1994, IBM announced it would close its 2.4-million square foot facility in Kingston and transfer operations elsewhere.
This site will be transformed with $200m of new investment.
