A seal-skin coat, six dinner gowns and two crates of figurines destined for the Denver Museum were just a few of the items Margaret “Molly” Brown lost the night the RMS Titanic sank almost 100 years ago.
Brown’s belongings were listed on an insurance claim she filed after surviving that fateful night. A copy of the claim hangs in an upstairs hallway of the the Molly Brown House Museum, which opened a new Titanic exhibit on Wednesday.
The exhibit, which includes first-hand accounts and interactive displays, marks the 100th anniversary of the ocean liner’s sinking. The museum is also giving special Titanic-themed tours through the home, exploring everything from the meals that were served on the liner to photos of rescue boat Number Six, which Brown sat in before being rescued.
“Do you see her hat?” Steph Mac-Carter asked, pointing to a photo of Brown in an opulent feather hat. “I think it’s fabulous, but I wouldn’t fit down the hallway if I was wearing it.”
MacCarter, who has been volunteering at the museum for nine years, led the first group of students, from Upper Blue Elementary School in Breckenridge, through the house and the new exhibit. Dressed in an authentic tea dress and hat, which would have been worn by a first-class passenger on the Titanic, MacCarter led Courtney Robinson’s fifth-grade class up and down the narrow stairways, detailing Brown’s life and how she ended up on the ship.
The Titanic sank during its maiden voyage, after it struck an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on April 14, 1912.
In the kitchen, students hummed the M in Molly as MacCarter explained how Brown never used the name. Margaret Brown did not become Molly Brown until the 1960s, when notes in the Broadway musical “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” carried better with Molly than Maggie, MacCarter said.
At the end of the tour, students got a hands-on experience as they listened to audio records, tried on floppy hats and aprons, and even tied knots in life vests — which were filled with peach pits — similar to the ones used on the Titanic
Holding up a skirt 6 inches too long and peering out from under an oversized lavender hat, Jordan Elam, 11, tallied the ways the exhibit brought to life the woman she had studied for weeks.
“I love learning about her life because she had such an optimistic character,” Elam said. “This is all so cool because you can see what you are learning.”
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
Molly Brown House Museum
“The Unsinkable Molly Brown: Denver’s Heroine of the Titanic” runs through Dec. 31.
The museum opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with guided tours available every 30 minutes until 3:30 p.m. Reservations are required for tours.
Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for seniors and military; $4 for children
Address: 1340 Pennsylvania St.
Info: 303-832-4092 or
