Part of my research with my host was a tour of Titanic Belfast, an exhibit rather than a museum since there is an agreement about not retrieving artifacts from the ship. Yes, there are traveling Titanic displays and artifacts for sale, but those are not sanctioned by this organization. The exhibit is very nicely arranged and actually focuses on the “modern” history of Belfast as an industrial city in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The shipbuilders of Harland & Wolff (that’s the proper way to show it) were among the premiere shipbuilders in the world in the age before air travel was conceived and made practical. One of their primary clients was the White Star Shipping Line and it was the head of that company and one of the head individuals of H&W who came up with the idea of the Olympic Class of Ocean Liners – of which there was to be Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic. Cunard, one of the main competitors of White Star had created the Mauritana and Lusitania as what were the largest liners at the time. The Olympic class ships would be even bigger – like nothing the world had ever seen. That was the idea and it was carried out right where I was walking yesterday.

The sky had clouded over and there was a brisk breeze blowing across the water. The two “drawing buildings” where the ship designers did their work are no longer open as they are going to be transformed in the near future. We did peek in though to see the cavernous room that used to be bustling with drafting tables, naval architects, assistants and apprentices.

Interestingly, despite it’s focus on history, the main building is quite modern and includes several interactive displays as well as some wonderful photographs, posters, paintings, and a ride through part of the construction phases. A section of the lower floor is devoted to the underwater exploration of the wreck and the gift shop has plenty of items from large to small. That includes t-shirts that say, “Titanic – She Was Fine When She Left Here”.