Wednesday–Sunday | 11am–5pm | 12 Fulton Street | Included in Admission
Experience this popular exhibition that examines the dichotomy between First Class and Third Class passengers aboard ocean liners in the early 20th century.
This exhibition features large-scale reproductions of artifacts, selected objects, and video displays from the South Street Seaport Museum’s permanent and archival collections including ocean liner memorabilia and ephemera, ceramics, and luggage trunks from both immigrants and First Class passengers.
As you step into the gallery, you will step back into the time of famed ocean liners that dominated transatlantic travel such as RMS Titanic, RMS Olympic, RMS Lusitania, RMS Mauretania, RMS Aquitania, and SS Imperator. On each voyage, these remarkable ships transported thousands of people; passengers in First-Class accommodations sailed across the Atlantic in the lap of luxury while passengers in Third-Class accommodations made the voyage in the stuffy lower decks.
On your visit you will see how, from 1900 to 1914, nearly 13 million immigrants traveling in Third Class arrived in the United States. During this same period, America’s wealthiest citizens, totaling no more than 100,000 passengers annually, traveled to Europe in First Class, spending over $11.5 billion (in 2017 dollars) on luxury vacations. Even though First Class and Third Class areas were within the same ships, the experiences were worlds apart. As the number of passengers increased, so did the size of the ships. Between 1900 and 1914, the size of ocean liners increased from 15,000 tons to 50,000 tons. In this period, ocean liners become virtual floating cities. As you explore the exhibition on your self-guided visit, you’ll learn about the class-based motivations of ocean liner passengers and how steamship companies often reflected these motivations in their marketing materials.
Access to the exhibition is included in museum admission tickets. Advance registration to guarantee your space is encouraged. Walkups can be accommodated as space allows. You may access Millions: Migrants and Millionaires Aboard the Great Liners, 1900–1914 at any time from 11am to 5pm on the day of your visit. Last admission will be 4:45pm. Access to the galleries in Schemerhorn Row is at street level and wheelchair accessible.
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More About the Exhibition
Housed within a first-floor gallery of the historic 1810-1812 Schermerhorn Row, this all-ages exhibition familiarizes you with passenger life aboard ocean liners, the defining differences between travel for wealthy Americans traveling in First Class and future Americans immigrating to the United States in Third Class.
While exploring this installation you are invited to:
- Admire 40 reproductions of programs, advertisements, menus, tickets, and more from the Museum’s extensive collection of ocean liner ephemera and memorabilia from the turn of the 20th century.
- Learn about accommodation and luggage by seeing a passenger’s wooden trunk from Third Class, next to a video displaying a piece of elegant leather, brass, wood, and textile luggage from First Class being opened by Collections staff.
- Learn about dining and cuisine via examples of ceramics and tableware produced for the two classes of passengers on board ocean liners, as well as menus printed and prepared on board the vessels. The menus have been printed as reproductions by the Museum’s designers at Bowne & Co. and you can see the printing plate and touch the reproductions to feel the difference in their paper and overall quality.
- Explore images of ocean liner arrival in New York City through two digital displays showing digitized footage and photographs from the Museum’s collections and archives and the Library of Congress. Images depict a small sample of the millions of people who crossed the Atlantic aboard the great liners.
The exhibition was curated by William Roka, former Seaport Museum Historian, and Michelle Kennedy, former Collections and Archives Manager, at the Seaport Museum. Exhibition design and art direction by Christine Picone Senior Designer of the Seaport Museum, and Rob Wilson, Art Director and Operations Manager at Bowne & Co., the Museum’s historic letterpress shop.
Gallery Views
