Entrance Hall:
Titanic Backstory
The Entrance Hall. 1910. Denver Public Library.
Like the Titanic’s First Class areas, the Brown’s Entrance Hall gave clues about the family’s social standing and interests. These walls were painted gold to reflect the pride the Browns had in J.J.’s tremendous gold strike.
After moving in, the Browns became frequent travelers; Margaret and J.J. even set out on a world tour of India, China, and Japan. You can see souvenirs from their travels in the house, such as the brass oil lamps from India here on the fireplace mantle. On her Titanic voyage, Margaret was also bringing back souvenirs, in the form of art and statues to donate to the Denver Museum.
RMS Titanic. Library of Congress.
It was on April 10, 1912, that the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton on its first trip to America. Titanic made a quick stop in Cherbourg, France to pick up passengers, including Margaret Brown who had been on a trip with her daughter Helen through Egypt. The photo they mailed home from the Great Pyramids can be seen here on the fireplace. They were travelling with multi-millionaire John Jacob Astor and his new wife, Madeline, who, like many other wealthy people, planned to sail back to America on the new luxury ship.
Margaret and Helen in Egypt. 1912. Molly Brown House Museum Collection.
The photo they mailed home from the Great Pyramids can be seen here on the fireplace. They were traveling with multi-millionaire John Jacob Astor and his new wife, Madeline, who, like many other wealthy people, planned to sail back to America on the new luxury ship.
Upon returning to Paris, Margaret and Helen got a letter from family back in the States saying that Margaret’s baby grandson was ill. She decided to head back home with the Astors on the Titanic, knowing she would get to mingle with the social elite.
Despite her mother’s urging, Helen stayed in Paris. She wrote to her sister-in-law back home, saying,
“Mamma almost persuaded me to make the return trip with her on this boat, as a great crowd will be aboard. It is the first trip, you know, and there will be much to do away with the monotony of the ordinary trip.”
- Helen Brown
Isidor Straus, Benjamin Guggenheim, John Jacob Astor IV.
And what a crowd it was! Successful businessmen like Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidor Straus strolled the opulent smoking rooms and lounges of First Class. John Jacob Astor was thought to be the wealthiest man in the world and was the focus of many stories printed after the sinking. Although these celebrities intrigued everyone, including Margaret, she would express her disapproval of some of the snobbish First Class attitudes toward the passengers who were less well-off, and who were about to lose everything.
Four days into the journey, the ship struck an iceberg. There were only enough lifeboats for about half of the estimated 2,227 people on board, so Titanic’s officers followed the motto of the sea which said women and children be saved first—a motto which Margaret later criticized for its unfairness. The First Class were put on the lifeboats first, and as a woman traveling First Class, Margaret survived on Lifeboat 6. She and others in her boat rowed for hours until they were picked up by the Carpathia.
Lifeboat no.6 with Margaret Brown. Library of Congress.
Margaret was one of only 705 Titanic survivors—less than a third of the passengers and crew aboard. A few days later, ships were sent to the disaster site from the nearest port in Halifax, Nova Scotia to recover bodies. Only about 300 victims were found and either returned to their families, buried in Halifax, or buried at sea.