The City Where The Unsinkable Was Built

We left Scotland this morning on a VERY early flight to hop across the water to Northern Ireland. We arrived 30 minutes later in Belfast. It has been 10 years since Stevie and I have been to this city and my has it changed. 

There are pretty much two claims to fame for this part of the world. First and most recently a few decades ago some may remember the civil unrest here between the Catholic and Protestant population. Violent fighting, deaths, disagreement divided this beautiful city. However, that has for the most point been put behind them. 

The second is the history of shipbuilding that occurred here a century ago. Specifically, this shipbuilding resulted in the infamous Titanic in 1912 from Harland and Wolfe shipbuilders.

We were here last in 2009 to visit the Titanic corridor and it was a mostly industrial area at the time. We were able to see some buildings from the old H&W company, the dry dock, and a few other places where things occurred. However, it was mostly abandoned and left up to the imagination as there were just signs that told what had happened in certain areas. 

We were shocked when we arrived this morning. The area has become completely revitalized. Within three years of our visit came the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic disaster and the Belfast area decided to bring the area back to life. To start with we are staying in a set of beautiful high rise condos that are on the waterfront.

This is the view from our condo. You can see the SS Nomadic (tender boat) and Titanic Belfast from our balcony.
Within the different buildings there are restaurants, stores, coffee shops, and about 300 condos. There is also a hockey arena, office buildings, and they turned some of the old H&W buildings that were used for building the large ship into movie studios. 

In fact the striped and gray buildings in the background were the indoor filming location for The Game of Thrones during its many seasons.

When we were here ten years ago we saw the tender boat that took many of the first class passengers out to the Titanic in France and Ireland. It was completely rusted out and you were unable to go anywhere near it as it floated in the water. 

Today it has been dry docked in one of the H&W old dry docks and has been completely redone. You are able to go on board and look around the boat. What is interesting about The Nomadic is that it is one of the last remaining pieces of The Titanic.

The one large project they completed for 2012 or the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the ship was this building.

This is Titanic Belfast. This unusual building is a large museum that is dedicated mostly to the building but also the history of the ship. The building was designed by a Texas architect. It was built to look something like an iceburg, it is the exact height of The Titanic, and it has points so it looks like a ship. 

It is divided into several galleries starting with "Boomtown Belfast" which explains what Belfast was like at the turn of the 20th century.  There was a "Shipyard" ride which was a ride that was exceptionally well done. It took us through a simulated Belfast shipyard. We learned that each rivet (metal nail) was put in by a group of 5 men/boys. The rivet heater, rivet thrower, rivet holder, and two hitters (a left and right handed). These men would have to properly put in 250 rivets to make one pound. It was loud and hot work.

The "Launch" gallery spoke of when it was first put unfitted into the water. This room let you look out into the original slipway where it was slipped into the water. 

The large metal posts symbolize where the Titanic would have been and the slipway was at the far end. Ten years ago non of this concrete was here, just the derelict slipway.

The "Fitting" gallery described the dry docking and fitting out of the ship. This was done within one year as she was slipped into the water in 1911 and she set sail in 1912.

The left side of this shows her before the fitting and the right side shows her after the fitting.

The end of the museum was emotional with the sinking and aftermath. Belfast lost many prominent people as H&W had sent many of its architects, engineers, etc on that first sailing and they never came home. 

Belfast certainly has outdone itself in the revitalizing of this historical area. I am happy to see it has come back to life.