Take a look inside this immersive Titanic exhibition in Los Angeles
With boarding passes in hand, visitors waiting to climb aboard a luxury cruise ship hear festive Gaelic string music play as they approach the dock.
In front of the hull of the ship, there are stacks of turn of the century luggage piled up by the door, near thick ropes that are securing the ship to the dock next to a ramp that leads up to the luxurious hallway entrance of the Titanic.
The real Titanic still rests about 13,000-feet underwater in the Atlantic Ocean, where the ship sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. The legendary vessel is now part of an exhibition that will take guests on an incredibly realistic and immersive journey inside the ship. It also explores its history through a display of hundreds of artifacts, stunning recreations of the ship’s interior, props from James Cameron’s 1997 “Titanic” film and even a close-up look at the ocean floor where the ship currently resides.
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This is Edward Lockyer’s gold swimming medal recovered off the body.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This is a replica of the grand staircase on the Titanic.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This piece is a White Star Line stuarts vest.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This is a replica of the grand staircase on the Titanic.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This is a gold pocket watch given to H&W employee that worked on the Titanic for his retirement.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” These pieces are the White Star Line first class turquoise Wisteria Pattern.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This is a replica of the grand staircase on the “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This piece is a ceiling rose from the White Star Line, Nomadic Ship.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This piece is a White Star Line cup and saucer taken off the Titanic.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.” This is a green screen photo opportunity for guests.
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The touring Titanic exhibition will be opening November 17, at the Beverly Event Venue, media was allowed a preview in Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 16, 2022. The exhibit is made up of hundreds of artifacts that encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ships, as well as props and costumes from the James Cameron film “Titanic.”
(Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Upon arrival, guests are issued boarding passes for this trip and each pass has a direct connection to an actual passenger that was aboard the ship.
“You will come here and you will go back in time,” said Tom Zaller, president and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, who along with events website Fever, is behind “Titanic: The Exhibition.” It opened earlier this month and runs through mid-January at the Beverly Event Venue in Los Angeles.
“You will be on the dock, looking at the Titanic ship and feel like you’re there on that day,” he added.
This is the North American debut of the traveling exhibition, which has had previous stops in places like Moscow, Russia and Sidney, Australia, as well as several other cities around the world. The exhibition follows Titanic’s journey in chronological order including its design in 1908, the maiden voyage in 1912, the tragic event that sank the ship and its discovery under the sea by Jean-Louis Michel and Robert Ballard in 1985.
“The Titanic story is a human story, it’s a compelling story,” Zaller said. “They called Titanic the ship of dreams; everyone wanted to get to America to start a better life. Our story is among those passengers on the Titanic and I think it’s a timeless story.”
The artifacts
A portion of the story is told through more than 300 artifacts on display that give people an idea of what passengers saw and experienced on board the Titanic, which was one of several ships built by White Star Line.
The collection of artifacts encompass items that survived the sinking of the Titanic, as well as pieces from its sister ships, the Olympic and the Britannic, which were outfitted with many identical features.
“The company made the same stuff for all those ships,” Zaller said. “So everything you see inside the glass boxes is over 100 years old. So these authentic artifacts help support the story we’re telling.”
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“The dishes that you see here that were on the Olympic and the Titanic were the exact same,” he added, pointing out items in a display case.
Besides collections of dishes and silverware that are more than a century old, other items include crystal bowl chandeliers, dining room chairs, employee uniforms and a recreation of a first class reading room, which is made up of late Georgian-era furniture including chairs upholstered in floral patterns, wood reading tables and an ornately carved fireplace mantelpiece.
Since the Titanic sank, the majority of these items are from the Olympic, but there are a few pieces from the famed vessel, including a small tea cup and saucer, as well as letters written by passengers from the Titanic, a deck chair and portions of wood rails from the ship.
With the “Titanic” movie returning to theaters in early 2023 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the award-winning film, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack and Kate Winslet as Rose, there are several props from the movie on display as well. Some of the items include a replica of the Heart of the Ocean, the diamond necklace with a blue jeweled heart that Rose threw into the water at the end of the film. There are life vests used in the film, as well as a screenplay of the movie and prop money. There’s also a copy of the picture Jack sketched of Rose wearing the Heart of the Ocean and nothing else.
For those who want to feel like they’re flying on the bow of the ship, just like Jack and Rose in the film, a part of the bow has been recreated in front of a large green screen, so guests can reenact the scene before entering the exhibition.
All aboard!
While the artifacts help visitors visualize what it must have been like to be on the ship, the recreations of the interiors will show exactly what passengers saw as they traveled on the vessel.
“There’s a little bit of history, a little bit of magic, a little bit of excitement and hope, and a little bit of sadness,” Zallar said.
After entering the ship from the dock as music plays, visitors will walk down a long, luxurious red-carpeted hallway, lit by glass dome lights attached to the white ceiling over white wood walls that are adorned with golden scones. The hallway is lined with white doors with gold knobs that the first class passengers would have turned to get to their rooms.
There’s also a jaw-dropping, life-size recreation of the grand stairwell, where Jack and Rose shared some of the film’s most memorable moments. It’s recreated in meticulous detail, with gold trim paint and patterns around its intricate wood and metal rails under the dome ceiling.
Another hallway leads to a different experience passengers had on the ship; the place where lower class ticket holders resided. Down this dimly lit hallway there are small bunk beds where families slept, as well as the steel security doors that separated them from the upper decks.
They can also walk through the boiler room where red-hot boilers powered the ship and there are some images of people who worked there on the walls. Another door leads to the promenade deck of the ship, which is surrounded by a black walls, emblazoned with small lights that make it appear as if you’re outdoors and sailing under the stars in the night sky.
Another tangible and immersive part of this exhibition is the boarding pass that visitors receive upon arrival. Each one has the name of an actual passenger that was aboard the ship. The idea behind that, Zaller explained, is that people will form a more personal connection to the Titanic as they walk through the exhibition as that actual passenger would have on the ship back in 1912.
Near the end of the exhibition, visitors will come across a room that displays various newspaper articles from the time about the sinking of the ship, as well as other memorabilia. In this room, they can search a list of names of the passengers to see if the passenger on their boarding pass survived or not.
“It’s going to be a very powerful moment for people,” Zallar said.
Under the sea
The exhibition ends with a trip to the bottom of the ocean to see the sunken ship. The scene is recreated in a dark room with a glass floor that guests can walk upon that displays images of the wreckage as video from the exploration of the ship plays on screens along the walls.
Zaller assures that this is what the floor around the sunken ship looks like. And he would know because he’s been there.
Nearly two decades ago Zaller dove down to the site of the wreckage and got face to face with the ship.
“When you touch down on the bottom and the muck starts to open up and you see that wreck, it’s an incredibly powerful feeling,” he said. “And that’s why I did that glass floor and, oh yeah, that’s what it looks like. It’s what they call the debris field.”
