Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
The Queen Mary first docked at Long Beach in 1967. Now, fifty years later, workers have discovered a forgotten room.
The 1,500-square-foot room was hidden behind a locked bathroom, and contains the equipment once used to control the ship's 16-ton anchors.
John Thomas is the Historic Resources Advisor aboard the Queen Mary. He says that while the room wasn't necessary "forgotten," it has been hidden to the public, and closed off for at least the past 25 years.
Thomas says the room will offer visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how the ship once operated.
"Although we’ve known the room existed for years, we hadn’t really thought about the room in terms of an exhibit space. We think this will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase some of the more mechanical aspects of the Queen Mary. So this was a great discovery for the opportunity to curate the exhibit, and show our guests how the ship was anchored."
The rediscovered room should be open to the public within a year.