Talk:Grand Staircase of the Titanic

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This article was nominated for deletion on July 2, 2007. The result of the discussion was No consensus to delete, merge or keep, so by default the article is kept.

Comments[edit]

What do you people think of my article, any good or a bit naff?

It could use a mentioning of james cameron's experience with his recreation of the grand staircase when he was filming titanic (1997 film), in which it rose from the base. --Alphamone 19:14, 4 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's also inaccurate. Titanic had two grand staircases, not one. The one featured in the fictional movie Titanic showed the fore staircase being destroyed, but in reality (and Robert Ballard's photography proves this) it was the aft staircase that was dislodged and destroyed. The fore staircase is still there, the bulk of its wood long gone (save some detail) but the steel frame still there. Even some of the light fixtures are still there.

There's also no reliable evidence (witness statements, remains, etc.) that says there were a hundred people on the staircase, at least according to Encyclopedia Titanica or any of the 25 Titanic books I have here. Nobody who could have seen the staircase survived.

Fictional depictions of historical events often compress timelines, leave out important details, and even combine the character traits of two individuals (ie. Alexander Carlisle, Thomas Andrews, and J. Bruce Ismay, in this movie). This is a known technique and understandable, since strict adherence to detail would make things a bit dull. The play Macbeth might not have been as good had Shakespeare not fudged the facts (that the real Macbeth was a better king than the real Duncan, that Duncan was actually younger than Macbeth, that Duncan won the throne by combat (and was not part of an "ancient line of kings"), and that Macbeth ruled for 17 years). But we shouldn't take a fictional story as a reliable source.

As for Cameron's recreation - it wasn't built nearly as strongly as the original staircase, it was pre-built and lowered into place, and the forces on that staircase were in a different direction. There's really no comparison. --Charlene 01:04, 23 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also, per WP:RECENT, I've pointed out that Cameron's movie is by far not the only one or even the only successful one to have used the Grand Staircase as either a setting or a metaphor. --Charlene 01:57, 23 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Okay. I've removed the trivia (much of which is just speculation about the movie and which is unattributable, let alone unattributed. I've pointed out that there were two grand staircases, and pointed out that Cameron's vision of the grand staircase being destroyed by water, hundreds dying, etc. is his interpretation and not attributed to reliable sources. I also added attribution for things such as which staircase was destroyed, where the staircases were, etc. --Charlene 01:52, 23 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Image of staircase[edit]

I have been doing some studies on the Grand Staircase of the Titanic. Many people say no photographs exist of the GSC but close inspection of this photograph proves otherwise. A possible alternate source for the photograph is the Olympic. The problem there is this photograph shows the stair tread protectors as being the brass plate, not the rubber that was fitted to the Olympic in 1913. It also shows the door leading to the First Class Cabins on the port side. This feature was also fitted to the Olympic in 1913. The ornate clock was not delivered on time to fit to the Olympic before her maiden voyage and was retrofitted in either the 1913 rebuild or the 1920 post war service refit. A different clock was tempoarily installed in its stead which was no where near as elaborate as the Titanic clock and copy that was later installed into Olympic. A photograph exists of the temporary clock installed in Olympic with the brass tread protections showing this to be correct prior to 1913. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Doug H Australia (talk • contribs) 13:04, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Note: see identical discussion at Talk:RMS Titanic#Olympic photo in Titanic article. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 03:33, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Depth of the Staircase?[edit]

I wish to call into question the accuracy of this section:

" 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.

' I have sen numerous books, and documentaries that suggest in one way or another that the grand furnishings, though not necessarily the layout, went down to E deck, and didn't end at D deck. Furthermore, looking at the actual deck plans, the staircase seems to continue down to F-deck/the turkish baths. Perhaps this is where it becomes an ordinary staircase, but that is still, IMO, a continuation.

Move discussion in progress[edit]

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Titanic which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 18:33, 14 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]