Grand Staircase of the RMS ''Titanic''

Contemporary drawing of the Titanic's Grand Staircase. No actual photos of it are known to exist.

The Grand Staircase is the name sometimes given to the large ornate staircases in the first-class section of the White Star Line liner RMS Titanic, which sank following a collision with an iceberg in 1912. The staircase has been prominently featured in Titanic media and often recreated in film, making it one of the most recognizable features of the lost liner.

Location

Sited in the forward part of the ship, the Grand Staircase was the main communication between decks for First-Class passengers and the point of entry to numerous public rooms. It descended in seven levels between the Boat Deck and E-Deck. Just forward of the staircase a passenger could turn the corner and find the three First-Class elevators that communicated alongside the staircase between A and E-Decks.

Style and decor

Photograph of Olympic's Grand Staircase taken from the Boat Deck level

The forward Grand Staircase was the pièce de resistance of the Titanic's First-Class public rooms.^[3] The two-storey high A-Deck level featured a large wrought iron and glass dome overhead that allowed natural light to enter the stairwell during the day. The dome was fringed with a delicately molded plaster entablature and rested on the deck housing surrounding the stairwell. It was covered by a protective box to protect the dome from the elements and which also contained the lighting to illuminate the dome from behind in the evening. In the center of the dome hung a large crystal and gilt chandelier. The small beaded crystal chandelier fixtures identified on the wreck only hung in the forward parts of the A and Boat Deck levels, the rest contained cut-glass shades.

Each staircase was built in solid English oak, with each banister containing elaborate wrought iron grilles with ormolu swags in the Louis XIV style. The staircases were 20 ft. wide and projected 17 ft. from the bulkhead. The surrounding entrance halls were appointed in the same polished oak paneling carved in the Neoclassical William & Mary style. The panels of the newel posts were carved with high relief garlands, each one of unique design, and topped by pineapple finials. Just behind the staircase were three elevator shafts that provided passengers access from their staterooms to the promenade deck. The lifts were immaculately decorated with classical order. There was also an elevator towards the stern of the ship for second class passengers.^[4] The floors were laid with white linoleum tiles interspersed with black medallions. Armchairs and sofas upholstered in blue were provided just off the staircases and potted palms in raised holders dotted each level. On the Boat Deck level was an upright piano allowing the ship's orchestra to hold impromptu concerts in the stairwell.

On the central landing of the A-Deck staircase was a clock flanked by two carved allegorical figures symbolizing "Honour and Glory crowning Time". A bronze cherub sculpture, holding an illuminated torch, graced the central newel post at the base of this staircase. There were likely smaller replica cherubs which graced either end of the B and C-Deck levels. On the D-Deck level, as the staircase opened onto the Reception Room, the central post held a huge gilt candelabra with electric lighting.

The B, C, D and E-Deck central landings all contained landscape and still-life oil paintings instead of the Honour and Glory crowning Time clock. These were probably painted by a Belfast artist on commission to Harland and Wolff.

Aft Grand Staircase

RMS Olympic aft grand staircase, notice the simple clock on the above landing

Restaurant Reception Area in the Aft Grand Staircase, Titanic

There was a second Grand Staircase located further aft in the ship, between the third and fourth funnels. Although it was in the same style with a dome at the center, it was of much smaller proportions and only installed between A, B, and C Decks. A simple clock graced the main landing in contrast to the ornate Honour and Glory Crowning Time clock in the forward Staircase. One could access the Smoking Room and Lounge from the A-Deck landing, as well as the Lounge forward of the landing via a companionway.

A reception area for patrons of the À La Carte Restaurant and Café Parisien decorated in white-painted Georgian paneling occupied the whole of the B-Deck foyer off the aft staircase. There were comfortable carpeted seating areas with rattan-woven chairs, sofas, and tables. This was also an innovation compared to the Olympic, whose B-Deck aft foyer was much smaller because of additional cabins and storage rooms. There was no reception area on the Olympic until the 1913 refit, which expanded the restaurant and added a reception area in emulation of Titanic.

On Titanic two additional en-suite staterooms were installed off of the A-Deck aft staircase, decreasing the size of the surrounding foyer in comparison to Olympic.

Condition in the wreck

When Robert Ballard discovered the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, he found only a gaping well in the place that the Staircase had once occupied. The deck house that once formed the Boat Deck level of the stairway is collapsed and the huge void left by where the dome had once been sited offers a convenient entry for Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). A pile of wreckage and twisted metal framework lies at the bottom of D-Deck, obscuring access to the lower decks.

Because each staircase was constructed individually and entirely from wood, it is assumed that the staircase either broke apart and floated out of the stairwell during the sinking or disintegrated in the 73 years before the Titanic's rediscovery. Another option is that whatever remained of the staircase was destroyed by the force of the bow hitting the sea floor and the huge hydraulic blast which resulted. Survivors described a large wave that swept the Boat Deck as the Titanic took her final plunge - this, or the wave produced by the collapse of the forward funnel, is often blamed for smashing through the dome and destroying the Grand Staircase. The surrounding foyers, with their oak pillars, plaster ceilings with oak beams, and chandelier ceiling fixtures all survive in recognizable condition.^[5]

During filming of sinking scenes for the 1997 film Titanic, the staircase set was wrenched from its steel-reinforced foundation by the force of the flooding. Director James Cameron commented, "Our staircase broke free and floated to the surface. It's likely that this is exactly what happened during the actual sinking, which would explain why there isn't much of the staircase left in the wreck ... The matching physiques serve as a form of 'proof of concept' in terms of our accuracy ..."^[6]

The aft grand staircase was torn apart as the Titanic broke up, being at or just aft of the point of rupture. Much of the wood and other debris found floating after the sinking is thought to have come from the aft staircase.

Artifacts from the Titanic and Olympic's staircases

There are no known photographs of the Titanic's staircase, but many survive of the Olympic's, which is presumed to have been similar. In 1990 a huge trove of woodwork from the Olympic was found in a barn in the North of England, much of it belonging to the Grand Staircase.^[7] These pieces retained the Avocado green color they had been painted in the 1932 refit, and included large amounts of wall paneling, carved newel posts, window frames, cornice-work, and doors. Portions of the oak banisters from the Aft Grand Staircase grace the staircase of the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, England.^[8] The chandeliers which once hung from the ceilings of the Staircase occasionally come up for auction - 16 were auctioned from the Haltwhistle Paint Factory in 2004. This auction also included the Olympic's four landscape oil paintings from the B,C,D and E-Deck landings, along with the communicating doors from the two Boat-Deck entry vestibules.^[9]

The carved clock of the Olympic, believed to be identical to the one on Titanic, is displayed at the SeaCity Museum in Southampton.^[10][11] This clock was used as the model for the one in Cameron's film.

Wreckage from the Titanic's aft and forward Grand Staircases, recovered in the weeks after the sinking, can be seen at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax. This includes an elaborately carved section of newel post from the aft staircase and pieces of oak handrail. There are also re-purposed items made from woodwork recovered from the Titanic, including a rolling pin and cribbage board, which very likely came from the Grand Staircase.^[12] Two bronze cherubs and the base of the forward A-Deck cherub have been recovered from the debris floor over the years. Fragments of the wrought-iron dome from the Aft Grand Staircase have also been identified in the debris field.^[13] Ken Marschall attested to spotting at least 9 pieces of the wrought iron and gilt balustrades from the staircases in the debris field from the 1986 Woods Hole expedition, though no photographs have ever been taken.^[14]

In popular culture

Of the many films which have been made about the sinking of Titanic, almost all have depicted the Grand Staircase in one form or another. The staircase has come to symbolize the overall opulence and grandeur of the Titanic.

• In the 1943 film, the Grand Staircase landing is shown as a metaphor for the avarice of the British and American upper classes.
• Jean Negulesco's 1953 film has a number of scenes set on the Grand Staircase, though it bears only a superficial resemblance to the real one.
• Roy Ward Baker's 1958 film also features scenes on the Grand Staircase, with recreations of the A and D Deck levels. The sets were based on archival photographs of the Olympic, lending them a general appearance of authenticity.
• In the 1979 docudrama S.O.S. Titanic actress Renee Harris, wife of producer Henry B. Harris, is shown stumbling on the steps and breaking her arm. This event took place in real life on the Titanic. However the staircase used was one from a mansion in London's Belgrave Square; it bore no relation to the appearance of the one on Titanic.^[15]
• Raise the Titanic (1980) features a version of the A-Deck Grand Staircase after the wreck is raised by the salvagers. Because it was filmed before the discovery of the actual wreck, it wrongly depicts the Grand Staircase as fully intact, to the point that the glass dome and bronze cherub are still in place. It also wrongly places the staircase at the end of a grand pillared gallery (there was no such feature on Titanic).
• The 1996 CBS miniseries Titanic features a recreation of the Grand Staircase, though it wrongly locates the A-Deck level, with its distinctive clock and cherub light fixture, opening directly onto the D-Deck dining saloon. It also eliminates the glass dome and the entire Reception Room.
• The staircase was a major focal point in James Cameron's 1997 film as well. The forward Grand Staircase, decks A through D, were accurately built to the correct proportions, although the model that was used was 30% larger than the actual staircase. It was reinforced with a steel frame, as opposed to Titanic's made entirely in oak. The main body of the original grand staircase possessed twelve steps including the step landing below the clock. The film's replica had thirteen steps. Artisans from Mexico and Britain were hired to produce the opulent oak carvings and plaster-work, although some of the newel panels were plaster casts painted to look like wood, to save money and work. The 'Honour and Glory' clock was a major focal-point in the film - it was carved by master-sculptor Dave Coldham after the actual one from Olympic.^[16]
• The staircases are also depicted in the video game Titanic: Adventure Out of Time. The fore grand staircase is depicted correctly for the most part, aside from some inaccuracies in the D and E deck landings, but in the aft grand staircase there is no clock present on the A-Deck landing.
• There are also several Titanic museums that have detailed replicas of the grand staircase. The ones featured at the Titanic museums in Branson, Missouri and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee were built using the ship's original deck plans but each differs from the original by featuring brass hand rails below the original handrails (for guest safety). The one at Titanic Belfast was again forced to make some rather big changes to accommodate current regulations.^[17]
• The stationary full-scale Titanic replica that is currently (2017) under construction in Sichuan, China is expected to include a recreation of the Grand Staircase.

See also

References

Bibliography

• Cameron, James; Marsh, Ed (1997). James Cameron's Titanic. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-649060-3.
• Lynch, Don; Marschall, Ken (2003). Ghosts of the Abyss. Madison Press Books. ISBN 0-306-81223-1.
• Marschall, Ken (2001). James Cameron's Titanic Expedition: What We Saw on and Inside the Wreck. marconigraph.com.