Ever since falling in love with the fictitious story of Jack and Rose 28 years ago, the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912, has both intrigued and haunted me. I’ve read countless articles and watched many documentaries over the years about the fateful maiden voyage—I even met underwater archaeologist Robert Ballard, noted for finding the Titanic wreckage, at the National Geographic offices in Washington, D.C..
But nothing quite prepared me for what I would experience when visiting “Titanic: The Artifact Exposition” at The Saunders Castle at Park Plaza in Boston this past winter.
Produced by North Shore native Joe Gold of The Gold Group, the exhibit displays more than 250 artifacts from the wreck site. RMS Titanic, Inc., a company “dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Titanic’s maiden voyage,” curated this collection for visitors to experience real stories behind the maritime tragedy.
Once inside Saunders Castle, a former armory, I am drawn back in time to April 1912, when the ship embarked on its first and final journey. I receive a replica boarding pass of a woman traveling in second class with her husband. I subsequently learn about the ship’s construction in Belfast, Ireland, what life was like onboard for passengers and crew and the conditions behind the infamous sinking.
Recovered items range from perfectly preserved porcelain gratin dishes to clothing and jewelry to all types of foreign currency and even a 14K fountain. These trinkets evoke the past with their tangible normalcy. The exhibit also recreates some of Titanic’s public and private interiors: the opulent Grand Staircase, first-class state rooms, third-class steerage and the massive boiler room, which kept the 52,320-ton ocean vessel full steam ahead.
RMST was granted rights to the wreck of Titanic and is the only company permitted to recover artifacts from the site. The organization has recovered and conserved more than 5,500 artifacts since 1987. RMST’s most recent imaging expedition was in July 2024.
“We have partnered with several local businesses that enhance the experience. Visitors can dance on the Titanic courtesy of Arthur Murray Dance Studios on April 16, experience what dining on the ship was like at Davio’s as well as Banks Steak and Seafood and even have a picture taken on the opulent Grand Staircase,” says Gold. At the end of my exhibit journey, I get to see if the woman on my boarding pass was saved in one of the lifeboats. I hesitantly scan my ticket and find that she survived the fateful night and went on to become a schoolteacher in Ohio.