Grand Staircase of the Titanic

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The Grand Staircase of the Olympic: Similar to the Titanic's first class section.

The phrase Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic has been used to refer to the first-class entrance aboard the Titanic which contained a large ornate staircase located in the first-class section of the White Star liner RMS Titanic. The staircase has been depicted most notably in the film Titanic. The staircase is often used by submersibles as an entry point into the sunken wreck as it is now a huge hole, which provides easy access to the ship's interior.

Considered to be two of the most luxurious appointments on the ship, the two Grand Staircases were designed to be used only by first-class passengers. The fore Grand Staircase descended five levels down from the Boat Deck to the D Deck in the famous appearance and continues down to E-Deck as an ordinary stairway.^[1] The staircase featured large glass domes that allowed natural light to enter the space during the daytime, oak panelling and detailed carvings, paintings, bronze cherubs (which served as lamp supports on the middle railings), candelabras, and other details. The staircase featured a clock surrounded by an intricate oak carving depicting Honour and Glory crowning Time.

There are no reliable sources that describe what occurred on the fore Grand Staircase during the ship's sinking. Photographs taken by explorer Robert Ballard show that the steel infrastructure of the staircase is intact, and that the wood was likely eaten away by microbes.^[2] A 360-degree view of the fore staircase as it currently appears can be seen on the Encyclopedia Titanica website.^[3] It stands on the wreck of the Titanic as a vast empty hole, within which submersibles and cameras can gain easy access to the ship's interiors. The steel structure and even some of the detail on the balustrades of the staircase can still be made out, and some of the light fittings are still exactly as they were in 1912.^[2]

There is an alternate theory as to what happened to the grand staircase that has growing support. During the filming of the 1997 movie, a sinking set had been constructed with a wooden replica of the grand staircase. As they submerged the set during filming, the grand staircase broke away from the framework. Eyewitness reports from the sinking and analysis of the wreck support, but do not prove, that the grand staircase floated out as the ship sank. The wreck lacks sufficient debris at the bottom floor to account for the staircase disintegrating and in nearby rooms traces of wood are readily seen.^[4] Only locating the bronze fixtures would prove whether it disintegrated in place or floated out.

The aft grand staircase was torn apart as the Titanic broke up shortly before sinking. Much of the wood and other debris found floating after the sinking is thought to have come from the aft staircase.

[edit] Style and architecture

The decoration of the staircase was a curious combination of styles. The paneling and woodwork were made by master craftsmen in the English William and Mary style. To this was added iron banister grillwork and ormolu garlands inspired by the French court of Louis XIV.

Typical of the times, a bronze cherub held aloft a lamp to light the landings of the staircase. Many years earlier, lamp stands had been placed at the foot of staircases for safety, but with dozens of gilded crystal chandeliers lighting Titanic's entrance halls and staircases, the cherubs on Titanic were very ornamental.

[edit] The Grand Staircases in popular culture

Many movies have been made about the sinking of the Titanic, and almost all have depicted the fore Grand Staircase. In the 1943 version of Titanic, the Grand Staircase (shown with a gigantic cherub at the other end of the landing, replacing the famous clock) is shown as a metaphor for the avarice and superficiality of British society. Jean Negulesco's 1953 film has a number of scenes set on the Grand Staircase (although the staircase shown in this movie is inaccurate).

In the 1997 film, the fore Grand Staircase was accurately depicted although the model used was larger than the actual staircase. In the film, the staircase is submerged but only the glass dome is destroyed. The film does not make it clear that the wooden railings and banisters were torn apart by the water.

There are also several Titanic museums that have detailed replicas of the Grand Staircase on display. Most notably is the one featured at the Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri, USA, which was built using the ship's original plan specifications and whose only major difference from the original staircase is its addition of brass hand rails for safety.

The dining room of the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, England has been fitted with the woodwork from Titanic's sistership Olympic, in a close resemblance to how liners' dining rooms would have looked, as well as a section of railing from Olympic's Grand Staircase.^[5]

Both staircases are freely explorable in the 90's point and click adventure game Titanic: Adventure Out of Time.