Titanic offices open secrets of liner's history

Local & National

Monday, March 24, 2008

The Titanic drawing offices are to be unveiled to the public today, unlocking the secrets of the world's most famous ship.

The former offices in the old main Harland & Wolff building on Queen's Road will give a unique insight into the history of the ill-fated liner.

The building, which was the hub of the H&W empire, is not usually open to the public, but courtesy of Titanic Quarter Ltd, visitors will get the chance to view a real piece of Titanic history never seen before.

The drawing offices gave rise to the inception and creation of the Titanic and many other famous luxury liners.

Titanic's original plans were drawn up here and the building includes the private offices of Lord Pirrie, Thomas Andrews and the H&W board room. There will be a Titanic display and members of the society will also be on hand to discuss the ship, her history and how the society works to keep her story alive.

The open day is one of a series of events being held over Easter week as part of Belfast City Council's seventh annual Titanic Made in Belfast festival.

"The Titanic story is probably one of the most fascinating, amazing, poignant, thought-provoking and absorbing tales from the last century, if not the last millennium," said the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Jim Rodgers. " However, it must be remembered that what happened to Titanic was a disaster - she was not.

"She sailed proudly from Belfast on a glorious day, carrying the hopes and pride of the growing city of Belfast - a city which, in the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, could rightly claim to be the commercial and industrial capital of Ireland."

The festival centres around a new exhibition in W5 telling the story of the liner - Titanic: Designed and Built in Belfast - which is running throughout March.

Other activities include special Titanic themed tours on land and water and a chance to try the award-winning interactive Titanic Trail, using the latest hand-held GPS technology.

Full details of all the events being staged to celebrate 'Titanic Made in Belfast' are available in the March edition of 'Whatabout', available from outlets throughout the city.