I jumped at a recent opportunity to visit
the Titanic exhibit at Southampton's SeaCity Museum
Having sunk 100 years ago,
this temporary exhibit is timely
( no photos allowed, again )
Did you know the Titanic was discovered only in September 1985?
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| RMS Titanic wikipedia |
To manage your expectations,
this exhibit was quite small and had few, if any, actual artifacts
from the sunken ship
The exhibit did showcase replicas of items,
original documents from the White Star Line office,
interesting facts, theories, and displays
It gave an excellent glimpse into the Edwardian times of 1912,
with its clear class division, high unemployment, strikes,
emigration, and extravagant wealthy
As the museum pointed out,
the Titanic was a microcosm of society at that time
Its cargo serves as an interesting time capsule
Displays posed the ethical question
of leaving the site sacred as an underwater grave
or
salvaging artifacts to be sold
to help fund the undersea excavation
(thousands of items sold already)
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| SeaCity Museum, Southampton |
Controversy continues
as to if they should resurface the Titanic
or leave it alone
The exhibit was an excellent starting point
for our self-guided walking tour
for our self-guided walking tour
The sinking of the Titanic devastated the town of Southampton
There are 220 Titanic memorials throughout the city
549 persons from Southampton lost their lives on April 15, 1912
3/4 of the crew were from there
- Staggering -
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| Titanic Memorial Fountain |
A few more stops along the tour...
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| Platform Tavern (purple) |
If you were looking toward the water from the Platform Tavern in early April 1912,
you would have seen the Titanic dominating the view
This was a popular tavern for dockers and seaman,
and provided lodging for Titanic passengers and crew
In the 1997 blockbuster Titanic by James Cameron,
Jack (Leonardo Di Caprio) won his passage ticket in a game of poker in a tavern
which was filmed there
(Needing to see that film again)
(Needing to see that film again)
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| Dock Gate 4, Titanic Berth |
Beyond this brown building
the Titanic awaited her maiden voyage
the Titanic awaited her maiden voyage
Only authorized persons were allowed to proceed past this point on our visit,
so we'll have to use our imagination :)
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| Admiralty House/ previous Post Office |
Saving the most interesting tidbit for last,
the very important 'RMS' prefix to Titanic refers to Royal Mail Ship(!)
which was carrying 1,300 bags of mail with five postal workers on board
Wanting more?
Currently the Titanic exhibit plans to remain open until August 2013
Check out one of the online walking tours such as this one
I purr at the history that surrounds me in England
Just pick a time period and throw a dart at the map
Do I appreciate living here?
You bet I do
:)
all photos by me
unless otherwise indicated
