Rule #6 – A writer needs to honor traditions, for there are
stories within.
It was a dark and stormy night…
Okay, so it wasn’t a night but it was a dark and stormy
weekday. That made it the perfect time to visit Philadelphia’s Franklin
Institute. We parked in the museum garage off of 21st St. We walked in and
dodged a few school field trips making their way to the buses. We walked right
up and got our tickets to go into the museum and see the Titanic exhibit. And
we had 10 minutes before we moved on schedule through the Titanic Artifact
exhibit which is at the Franklin Institute until April, 2013. Never have I
moved through a public venue that quickly. Okay, once before. I visited the Alamo in the pouring rain and
we had that venue all to ourselves too. It really does pay to be a water-logged
tourist.
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| RMS Titanic - photo from History.com |
My sister and I ventured up to the third floor, where he
artifact exhibit begins. As we walked in, we were handed a boarding pass, with
a name on it. Our passes had our class
of travel on it too, along with a bit of a back story about the person who we “were”.
Then it was time to make our way to the dock, where the past became the
present.
The exhibit begins with the building of the Titanic in Belfast. Wrenches and bolts used by Harlan and Wolff Shipbuilders
are safely secured under glass. Pictures of the crews at work are on display in
this section. A portrait of Thomas Andrews, Titanic’s designer, and Lord
Pirrie, the president of Harlan and Wolff, are on display. Then we move from
the dock, passed suitcases and trunks - some salvaged from the wreck – up the
gangplank, as if we were boarding the vessel to the B deck of the ship. We move into the ship at the point of the
Grand Staircase. This portion of the
exhibit is recreated from the photographs and design drawings left behind. I
stop for a moment on the portion of the steps open to visitors and imagine
myself descending the stairs, meeting friends before we continue to D deck for
dinner.
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| Recovered stair cherub - Photo from History.com |
The tour takes you down the B-deck corridor to the First Class
rooms. You see salvaged personal items –
decanters, glasses, shaving gear, and currency – from the First Class cabins on
display. You also see a recreation of a typical First Class cabin. Everywhere, there are written descriptions of
the activities of the passengers at this level of travel. Life on board ship was quite luxurious. Titanic boasted the latest of modern
conveniences, such as electric lighting, private lavatories, and in-room
heaters. We learn, too, that an average
First Class ticket cost around $2800 – in 1912 economic dollars. That is around
$70,000 now.
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| Dishes were displayed as you see them here, in sand from the ocean's floor | - Photo from History.com |
Next we move to Second Class. Again we get a glimpse into
the life on board for Second Class passengers.
Stories line the walls about passengers and their travel plans. We see recovered china and glassware from
this area of the ship. We see a typical cabin from Second Class. Many more
personal items – a business perfume sample, whiskey bottles – are on display
here. This seems to be the “business
class” of 1912 – comfortable but not luxurious or ostentatious.
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| Recovered silverware - Photo from History.com |
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| Salvaged pocket watches - Photo from History.com |
As we walk down the reconstructed corridor from Second
Class, I have an eerie feeling. We move
to the Third Class, where the White Star Line made most of its money. Third Class passengers board to escape persecution
in their homelands. Third Class
passengers look for a better life in America.
Third class passengers are the “cash cow” for ship lines in the early 20th
century. Their cabins are smaller, with
bunk beds. They are packed closer
together in their quarters. But the cabins are clean and have running wash
water on tap in the cabin! Such a luxury this is for the Third Class
passengers! We see many personal passenger artifacts here, some that we’ve seen
in James Cameron’s movie – eye glasses, waistcoats, currency. There is no
denying, however, the knowledge that many of our grandparents and
great-grandparents traveled to America in lodgings such as these. It makes one
humble, it does.
There is a ramp that brings the visitors from the third floor
down to the second. On your trip down the ramp, you feel vibrations and hear
the engine noises. You are now heading
into the heart of the ship – the engine room.
Many artifacts recovered from the stern section debris field are on
display in this section along with their placement referenced in the pictures
on the wall. We move into the darkness,
where many more personal artifacts are displayed. Then there it is – the iceberg – or a replica
of the typical iceberg. This is one that you can touch and get a tactile idea
of the cold encountered by the passengers on that fateful night.
Then you have a chance to see how the RMS Titanic, Inc.
recovered the artifacts. There is a 3D representation of exploring the ship
from the eyes of the robot rovers. And as you complete the visit, you see the
list of passengers. They are broken up into survivors and deceased. It’s
interesting to note that the amount of First Class passengers who survived
seems equal to the amount of Third Class passengers who perished. Here is a vivid reminder of the inequities
built into the class system of travel.
Here it hits you how many lost their lives that night. Here is a chance for a prayer to their
memory.
My sister and I have a chance to see if our “person’s survived. As First Class women, we both know our
chances are better than good. Sure enough, we both survived, as did everyone in
our parties – even the men.
The Franklin Institute is well worth the trip even without
the special exhibit. We both got to play with all the other hands-on exhibits,
since the museum was virtually empty.
There are interactive exhibits on weather, astronomy, and wellness. The
Institute boasts of the only walk-through heart. But the Titanic artifact exhibit is on that
should not be missed.
I was able to catch the artifact exhibit when it first
toured the United States. That time, I saw it at the Maryland Science Center,
in Baltimore. The premise was similar in that you “became” a passenger with a
boarding pass, toured the decks and below decks, touched the iceberg and found
out if you survived.
This trip was different. It’s been 100 years since the great ship slipped beneath the Atlantic. It’s been 27 years since Robert Ballard and his team found her on the floor of the Atlantic. In that time period, many expeditions to the wreck site documented the damage. Much to Dr. Ballard’s chagrin, many more visited the site to recover artifacts, or some just to visit, at times creating more damage to the fragile ship. It truly is hallowed ground, a grave for many.
Being close to the artifacts this time gave me an eerie
feeling, just like my previous visit. These items belonged to people, with
lives and families, histories and futures. Lives cut short by one fateful
ticket. Yet, it made this visit even more precious. I felt the need to honor
those whose lives were lost in some way. No one who visits the artifacts leaves
without the experience affecting them in some fashion. My first visit sent me
investigating everything written about the wreck. This visit had me reviewing
much of the written investigations, including the strikes at the ship yard, and
the politics behind the decisions made.
The fascination with the history around Titanic will never
stop. She tells a sad tale of arrogance, ignorance, cost cutting, fighting,
foolishness and pride. It’s a tale told in other historical events, with just
as great a loss of life. But this story resonates to this day. The politics of
some of the decisions made add pathos to the story. And last year, her last
survivor, Milvina Dean, passed away.
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| Milvina Dean, last survivor of the Titanic sinking - Photo from History.com |
We are still learning much from her, especially in the metallurgical
area. She is responsible for a lot of the safety we now enjoy on cruise ships. Trans-Atlantic
shipping is safer, thanks to many of the regulations that came about after she
sank. She still talks to us from the deep. Her ghosts have much more to say to
us. We just need to listen. And never forget...
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| Bow of Titanic now... |
(Thank you, History Channel at history.com, for the photographs.)
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