Reading & Writing Room Different on Titanic

Hey There,

I saw a picture on this site...(you have to go a page or two ahead on the bottom with the arrow) of the Reading And Writing room. There is a wall next to the Bay windows instead of the alcove I usually see. Whats going on in this picture? Was there no alcove on the olympic?

Thanks!
 
Hello Sahand,
In fact, there was an alcove but just from the beginning to the 1928 refit I think. Then, this space and the other one in front of the First Class Entrance was filled with staterooms.

Best Regards,
Diego
 
There are a few books out now with Post refit deck plans of the Olympic. They clearly show how the Reading and Writing room had that alcove walled off and the addition of a few more staterooms there and between the alcove and firstclass entrance.
 
Thanks for clearing that up!

That makes me think....with all these additional rooms....it makes me think why they would add them. Was there ever a time when Olympic was booked or "sold out". Titanic was practically empty compared to what she could hold(thank god it wasnt full) Im sure olympic would have alot more but was it neccessary?

Thanks!
 
Hi Sahand,

The reason for the additional cabins was a two fold solution to a problem.

First, the Reading & Writing Room was not very popular, this White Star saw better use for the space.

Second, in 1928 during her refit, all of the inside cabins on A Deck were converted to private bathrooms for the adjoining outside cabins, drastically reducing First Class passenger capacity.

For example, when Olympic entered service in 1911 she featured 32 cabins on A Deck, and not one featured a private bathroom. Improving this area of the Olympic became the preoccupation of White Star well into the 1930’s; however the creation of these facilities was gradually reducing passenger capacity dramatically.

Upon her return to transatlantic passenger service in 1919 First Class passenger capacity was 750, after the 1928 refit it was reduced to 670.

White Star needed to replace the lost cabins, so they added new ones wherever they could without dramatically altering the ship.

Hope this helps!

Best Regards,

Brian
 
Thanks so much!

I would always imagine the reading and writing room being very quite...with maybe just one or two people in it....probably women who liked keeping to themselves.

I allways thought that it would be a great room for a ballroom or dancefloor. If it just had hardwood floors it would look great. Especially with those large windows.
 
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