Titanic – Retracing History

These are a few photos that I took today to support my research of the Belfast Harbour Office (and in particular its ties to the Titanic).

The interior of the original Drawing Offices at Harland & Wolff, where Titanic was designed (as they look today).

Drawing Office Final

IMG_0939

And how they looked when in use by Harland & Wolff in 1911:

Harland-Wolf-Shipyards-Main-Drawing-Room-in-early-1911

The Thompson Dry Dock; this was where the mighty Titanic rested in February 1912 (right on top of that long row of ‘keel blocks’ – the pictured keel blocks were the originals that were used to support the Titanic) .  It was here that she was fitted with propellers and her hull was painted and inspected.  This dry dock was able to accommodate all 900 feet of Titanic, I have circled a dummy person that has been placed in the dock to further illustrate its huge capacity – pretty awesome, huh?

Thompson Dry Dock 4

Thompson Dry Dock 1

Thompson Dry Dock 2

And just to help you visualise how Titanic would have looked in the Thompson Dry Dock, take a look at these amazing images below.  This is the beautiful beast in all her glory IN the Thompson Dry Dock!  I’m enjoying every minute of this research – retracing history is an extremely evocative, haunting and grounding experience.

Titanic in Thompson Dry Dock

Titanic in Thompson Dry Dock 3

Note the keel blocks that are supporting this spectacular vessel. They had wooden buffers at the top so as not to damage the hull.

Titanic in Thompson Dry Dock 4

And this 19th Century property, the Belfast Harbour Office was the starting point of my journey.

Belfast Harbour Office

6 Comments

  1. anitadesignstudio says:

    Haha, I’m glad you liked!

    Like

  2. Melissa says:

    Looks awesome Anita, Titanic was an amazing piece of engineering, I can totally understand how much you must be enjoying researching this.

    Like

  3. anitadesignstudio says:

    Hey Melissa, only just came across your comment! Thanks for taking the time to read my posts; I really appreciate it. Visiting the Thompson Dry Dock was an amazing experience…I loved every minute of it 🙂 My chosen period property and its historical significance more than made up for the nasty report on Modernism!

    Like

  4. Gemma says:

    Just discovered your blog and am really enjoying it. I used to live in Belfast so it’s nice to see photos of some familiar buildings!

    Like

  5. anitadesignstudio says:

    Hi Gemma! Thanks for taking the time to browse through my humble little blog 🙂 I’m thrilled that you are enjoying it. How on earth have you coped not living in Belfast, which is clearly the centre of the universe(joking)??!

    Like

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