3rd Class General Room

Third class general room.

The third class General Room was a gathering place for the multitude of steerage passengers steaming towards a new life in North America.  Located on the starboard side of the ship, it served as a lounge, a nursery and a recreational area.

The General Room was finished in white enamelled pine and fitted with slat-seated benches and teak chairs.  In the interests of hygiene, there were no upholstered surfaces. However, the walls were brightened with posters advertising White Star’s vessels and ports of call.

Third class male passengers onboard the Titanic had access to a smoking room, similar to the general room but with its own bar, and spittoons for those who chewed tobacco.

"It is panelled and framed in pine and finished enamel white, with furniture of teak.  This will be the general rendezvous of the third-class passengers – men, women and children – and will doubtless prove one of the liveliest rooms on the ship... The new field of endeavour is looked forward to with hope and confidence… the interval between the old life and the new is spent under the happiest possible conditions".

White Star Line