Titanic artifacts to be displayed in Las Vegas

Friday, Oct. 8, 1999 | 10:03 a.m.

Personal items, dishware and a never-before exhibited D-deck portal used by first-class passengers to board the Titanic will be featured at "Titanic: The Exhibition" opening at the Rio hotel-casino Nov. 5.

The exhibit will include a re-creation of rooms and the grand staircase along with personal stories of those traveling aboard the largest and most luxurious liner of its time.

"No other story has captured our hearts like hers," said John Norman, vice president of SFX Family Entertainment Inc., which along with RMS Titanic Inc. is bringing the exhibit to the Rio for an indefinite engagement.

The stories of those on board were compelling, personal, sad, lovely and unforgettable, Norman said.

The Titanic departed from Queenstown Harbor on April 11, 1912, with more than 2,000 passengers. Just before midnight on April 14, the liner that was termed unsinkable hit an iceberg and sank within 2 1/2 hours. There were 705 survivors.

Multimedia displays will take visitors through the Titanic's story, beginning with the ship's construction, its pre-voyage and launching to the ship's burial place 2 1/2 miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

Las Vegas was selected for the exhibition because of the tourist industry drawing in people from all over the world, Norman said.

RMS Titanic, Inc. has exclusive rights to recover the artifacts. More than 5,000 have been recovered from the Titanic since 1987. Several hundred of them will be on display.

The D-Deck door was recovered in last year's expedition. Other items brought up from the ocean floor include silverware, a pedestal for the ship's wheel, a ship's whistle, the base of a chandelier and about $80,000 in coins and paper currency, John Eaton, historian and founder of the Titanic Historical Society, said.

Personal artifacts recovered represent class distinction of the time, he added.

Suitcases belonging to travelers were recovered along with clothing and other personal items such as hand mirrors, razors, a pocket watch and jewelry. A pair of clay marbles that once belonged to a child are a solemn reminder of the youth of some of the victims aboard, he said.

Sheet music still on the stand, an unopened bottle of olives and a porthole with glass intact believed to have come from the first-class dining room will be part of the exhibit. A bronze cherub representing the Titanic's grandeur will be among traveling items on exhibit for a limited time. The cherub is believed to have held an elegant light at the banister of the grand staircase.

Thomas Roberts, vice president of development and leasing at the Rio, said the space used for "Treasures of Russia," the largest collection of Romanov Dynasty treasures exhibited in America, made the Rio an ideal site for the Titanic exhibit.

SFX will operate the exhibit. Admission will be $15.95 for adults and $9.95 for children.