1876 — 2020
The Dial Tone
A continuous 350 Hz + 440 Hz tone that once meant possibility. Pick up a phone today — silence.
Est. 1987 — Reykjavik, Iceland
The Museum of Forgotten Sounds
A permanent archive of acoustic phenomena that no longer exist in the modern world. Dial tones. Typewriter return bells. The crackle of a television signing off.
Enter the Archive
Permanent Collection
Sounds You've Already Forgotten
1868 — 1995
Typewriter Carriage Return
The metallic ding and slide of resetting a line. Every paragraph began with a tiny violence.
1928 — 2009
TV Sign-Off Static
After the national anthem, the screen dissolved into white noise. The sound of broadcast civilization going to sleep.
1991 — 2006
56k Modem Handshake
The screaming negotiation between your computer and the internet. Patience had a frequency.
1895 — 2014
Film Projector Rattle
Celluloid threading through sprockets at 24 frames per second. Cinema used to have a heartbeat.
1930 — 2003
Flashbulb Pop
A single-use explosion of magnesium and oxygen. Every photo cost a small detonation.
Current Exhibition
The Last Payphone
The Last Payphone
in Manhattan
In 2022, New York City removed its final payphone. This installation reconstructs the exact acoustic environment of a call placed from the corner of 7th Avenue and 50th Street — traffic, rain, coins dropping, and a voice saying "please deposit twenty-five cents."
Plan Your Visit
Hours & Location
Location
Hafnarhús Annex
Tryggvagata 17
101 Reykjavik, Iceland
Hours
Tue — Sat: 10:00 — 18:00
Sun: 12:00 — 17:00
Mon: Closed
Admission
Adults: 2,500 ISK
Students & Seniors: 1,500 ISK
Under 12: Free
Note
Visitors are asked to silence all devices. The museum is a listening environment.
About
Why Preserve Sounds?
We photograph sunsets and archive letters. We preserve buildings and protect languages. But the sounds that defined entire eras — the ones that shaped how we understood time, distance, and each other — we let those disappear without ceremony.
The Museum of Forgotten Sounds was founded in 1987 by acoustic archaeologist Dr. Sigrun Halldorsdottir after she realized her children had never heard a busy signal. Since then, we have catalogued over 3,400 extinct or endangered sounds from 89 countries.
"A civilization can be understood by the sounds it chooses to forget." — Dr. Sigrun Halldorsdottir, Founder