Grand staircase of the RMS Titanic - wikipedia Grand staircase of the RMS Titanic Contemporary drawing of the Titanic 's Grand Staircase. 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. Contents 1 Location 1.1 Boat Deck 1.2 A-Deck 1.3 B - Deck 1.4 C - Deck 1.5 D - Deck 1.6 E-Deck 2 Style and decor 3 Aft Grand Staircase 4 Condition in the wreck 5 Artifacts from the Titanic and Olympic 's staircases 6 In popular culture 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 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. Boat Deck The Boat Deck level of the stairwell functioned as an interior balcony overlooking the staircase and A-Deck below. This level was 56 ft. wide by 33 ft. long. There were two entry vestibules, 5 ft. x 6 ft., on either side of the Boat Deck that communicated with the outside. The Gymnasium entrance was right next to the Starboard Grand Staircase entrance. The Officer 's Quarters and Marconi Room were also accessible via two corridors that branched forward from either side of the staircase. This level was lined with arched windows that provided ample natural light to the stairwell during the day. A-Deck Off of the A-Deck level a long aft companionway ran along the Starboard side, connecting passengers to the Reading and Writing Room and the Lounge at the far end, which was entered via revolving doors. Two entry vestibules, 5 ft. x 6 ft., connected passengers to the Promenade Deck and two corridors forward of the stairwell accessed the A-Deck First - Class staterooms. A framed map of the North Atlantic route where Titanic 's progress was updated everyday at noon which was most likely located on the port or starboard side of the room. B - Deck Just off the B - Deck level staircase were the two `` Millionaire 's Suites '', as well as two enclosed First - Class entry foyers along each side. The bulk of B - Deck was occupied by First - Class cabins, the finest and largest offered. C - Deck On C - Deck were the Purser 's and Enquiry Offices, just off the Staircase on the Starboard side. Passengers could store their valuables with the Purser and submit Marconi messages sent via pneumatic tube to the Marconi Room. They could also purchase small items like postcards, pay for tickets to the Turkish Baths and Squash Court, reserve deck chairs, check out board games, and request their seating in the dining saloon, among other services. Long companionways branched off of the Staircase forward and aft containing First - Class staterooms, much like B - Deck above. D - Deck The D - Deck staircase opened directly onto the Reception Room and adjoining Dining Saloon. Behind the staircase were two arched entry vestibules and the companionways which communicated with First - Class staterooms in the forward part of the ship. E-Deck On E-Deck the staircase narrowed and lost its grand sweeping curve, though it was designed in the same oak and wrought iron style. There were no public rooms on this deck, only First - Class cabins. A modest single flight terminated on F - Deck, where the Turkish Baths and Swimming Pool could be reached. 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. 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. 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. 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 is n'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... '' 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. 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. 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. The carved clock of the Olympic, believed to be identical to the one on Titanic, is displayed at the SeaCity Museum in Southampton. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Further information : First class facilities of the RMS Titanic and Second and Third - Class Facilities on the RMS Titanic References Jump up ^ ( Bruce Beveridge 2009, p. 202 ) Jump up ^ ( Bruce Beveridge 2009, p. 236 ) Jump up ^ Titanic deckplans from the Encyclopedia Titanica. Accessed 22 April 2007. Jump up ^ Lynch, Don & Marschall, Ken, Ghosts of the Abyss. 2001 ; 66 - 9. Jump up ^ ( Ed Marsh & James Cameron 1997, p. 141 ) Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf05uykvH5k Jump up ^ Olympic 's Fittings at White Swan Hotel, Alnwick, England Accessed 15 February 2008. Jump up ^ http://www.northatlanticrun.com/400auction2004gallery.html Jump up ^ http://www.rmsolympic.org/grand.html Jump up ^ http://whitestarmoments.weebly.com/olympic.html Jump up ^ https://novascotia.ca/titanic/artifacts-results.asp?Search=Maritime+Museum&Lang= Jump up ^ http://www.titanic-titanic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=867 Jump up ^ ( Ken Marschall 2001, p. 3 ) Jump up ^ `` S.O.S. Titanic Filming Locations ''. imdb.com. Retrieved 10 May 2017. Jump up ^ Ed W. Marsh ( 1997 ). James Cameron 's Titanic. p. 34. Jump up ^ http://www.bmc-gates.co.uk/d-titanic-building-belfast.htm 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. RMS Titanic First class facilities Second and Third class facilities Grand Staircase Musicians Sinking Alternative theories Changes in safety practices Legends and myths Lifeboats Lifeboat No. 1 British inquiry US inquiry Wreck of Titanic Maritime Memorial Act Deck officers Edward J. Smith ( Captain ) Henry Tingle Wilde ( Chief Officer ) William McMaster Murdoch ( First Officer ) Charles H. Lightoller ( Second Officer ) Herbert Pitman ( Third Officer ) Joseph G. Boxhall ( Fourth Officer ) Harold G. Lowe ( Fifth Officer ) James Paul Moody ( Sixth Officer ) Joseph Bell ( Machine Room Manager ) Crew members Frederick Barrett Harold Bride William Denton Cox Sid Daniels Alfred Frank Evans Frederick Fleet Luigi Gatti Robert Hichens Violet Jessop Charles Joughin Reginald Lee Evelyn Marsden William Mintram Jack Phillips George Symons Passengers Fatalities Allison family Thomas Andrews John Jacob Astor IV David John Bowen Archibald Butt Thomas Byles Roderick Chisholm Walter Donald Douglas Edith Corse Evans Annie Funk Jacques Futrelle Sidney Leslie Goodwin Benjamin Guggenheim John Harper Wallace Hartley Charles Melville Hays Edward Austin Kent Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche Francis Davis Millet Harry Markland Molson Michel Navratil Eino Viljami Panula W.T. Stead Ida Straus Isidor Straus John Borland Thayer Jr. Frank M. Warren, Sr. George Dennick Wick George Dunton Widener Harry Elkins Widener Duane Williams George Henry Wright Survivors ( last living ) Rhoda Abbott Trevor Allison Lillian Asplund Madeleine Astor Ruth Becker Lawrence Beesley Karl Behr Dickinson Bishop Mauritz Håkan Björnström - Steffansson Elsie Bowerman Francis Browne Margaret `` Molly '' Brown Daniel Buckley Alden Caldwell Helen Churchill Candee Charlotte Drake Cardeza Lucile Carter Gladys Cherry Millvina Dean Margaret Devaney Sir Cosmo Duff - Gordon Lucy, Lady Duff - Gordon Ethel Flora Fortune Dorothy Gibson Archibald Gracie IV Frank John William Goldsmith Edith Haisman Henry S. Harper Eva Hart Margaret Bechstein Hays Masabumi Hosono J. Bruce Ismay Eleanor Ileen Johnson Louise Laroche Louise Kink Margaret Mannion Michel Marcel Navratil Alfred Nourney Arthur Godfrey Peuchen Winnifred Quick Marjorie Newell Robb Edith Rosenbaum Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes Emily Ryerson Beatrice Sandström Frederic Kimber Seward Eloise Hughes Smith Jack Thayer Marian Thayer Barbara West Ella Holmes White R. Norris Williams Marie Grice Young Monuments and memorials General Memorials and monuments to the RMS Titanic Australia Bandstand ( Ballarat ) United Kingdom Engine Room Heroes ( Liverpool ) Engineers ( Southampton ) Musicians ( Southampton ) Titanic ( Belfast ) Orchestra ( Liverpool ) United States Straus Park ( New York City ) Titanic ( New York City ) Titanic ( Washington, D.C. ) Butt - Millet Memorial Fountain ( Washington, D.C. ) Popular culture Books The Wreck of the Titan : Or, Futility ( 1898 ) A Night to Remember ( book ) Polar the Titanic Bear Films Saved from the Titanic ( 1912 ) In Nacht und Eis ( 1912 ) Atlantic ( 1929 ) Titanic ( 1943 ) Titanic ( 1953 ) A Night to Remember ( 1958 ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( 1964 ) Raise the Titanic ( 1980 ) Secrets of the Titanic ( 1986 ) Titanica ( 1992 ) Titanic ( 1997 ) The Legend of the Titanic ( 1999 ) Titanic : The Legend Goes On ( 2000 ) Ghosts of the Abyss ( 2003 ) Tentacolino ( 2004 ) Titanic II ( 2010 ) Television S.O.S. Titanic ( 1979 ) Titanic : The Complete Story ( 1994 ) Titanic ( 1996 ) No Greater Love ( 1996 ) `` A Flight to Remember '' ( Futurama ) ( 1999 ) Titanic ( 2012 ) Titanic : Blood and Steel ( 2012 ) Saving the Titanic ( 2012 ) Music `` The Titanic ( It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down ) '' ( folk song ) The Sinking of the Titanic ( music composition ) Titanic ( musical ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( musical ) `` My Heart Will Go On '' ( Celine Dion song ) `` Nearer, My God, to Thee '' ( song ) Video games Titanic : Adventure Out of Time ( 1996 ) Titanic : Honor and Glory ( TBA ) Museums and exhibitions SeaCity Museum ( Southampton ) Titanic Museum ( Branson, Missouri ) Titanic Museum ( Pigeon Forge, Tennessee ) Maritime Museum of the Atlantic ( Halifax ) Titanic Belfast Places Titanic ( Canada ) Titanic Canyon Titanic Quarter, Belfast Cape Race, Newfoundland Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia Mount Olivet Cemetery ( Halifax ) Related Ships RMS Olympic RMS Carpathia HMHS Britannic CS Mackay - Bennett SS Californian Replica Titanic Titanic II Others White Star Line David Blair Arthur Rostron Stanley Lord Titanic Historical Society Encyclopedia Titanica Halomonas titanicae Women and children first SOS CQD Robert Ballard Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grand_Staircase_of_the_RMS_Titanic&oldid=848431704 '' Categories : RMS Titanic Stairways Wooden buildings and structures Hidden categories : Use British English from April 2012 Use dmy dates from April 2012 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Português 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 1 July 2018, at 21 : 26 ( UTC ). 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Question: where was the grand staircase located on the titanic
Answer: in the first-class section