Queen Mary: Long-Hidden Room Rediscovered

A worker spied the shuttered space through a hole in a "locked and rarely-used" restroom.

Taking on the renovation of an older home can mean a few things.

Number one? You'll likely be perusing paint swatches aplenty, the kind that authentically take the space back to its origins. Two? It will become an obsession, over time, properly restoring the structure to its early glory.

And three? You just might find a sepia-toned photograph, or vintage postcard, in a crawl space, an artifact you'll show guests for years to come.

It so happens that the restoration crew currently hard at work on the Queen Mary came across something they'll be showing to guests for years to come, though it can't be held in one's hand, nor would it fit in a crawl space: It's an entire room.

Make that a room "...chock full of massive equipment, gears and motors that had probably not been seen in decades, maybe since the renovation in the late '60's," a post on the Long Beach landmark's Facebook page shared. The equipment's role? So very important: anchor management.

Calling it a "...true glimpse into history," the room was discovered when a worker, who was attending to pipe repair in a bathroom on the A Deck, came across "...a hole in the back wall of a restroom."

"When we looked through the wall, our minds were blown."

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Urban Commons, the leaseholder of the famous ocean-liner, shared photographs of the long-untouched room, which is located below the ship's Forecastle, on the Queen Mary's Facebook page on Friday, June 2.

The room's condition is described as "nearly pristine."

There are definitely some intriguing mysteries to solve regarding the unseen-for-years space — a commentor revealed, below the photos, that he'd seen the room in 1981, as a guide on the ship — but the biggest mystery, at the moment, may be when tour guests on the ocean-liner can get a look at it.

That's to come, in "the near future," once the room has been thoroughly vetted on all safety fronts. 

The post was hashtagged #fixitfriday, not surprisingly. And, not surprisingly, there've been a few interesting #fixitfriday updates as of late, what with the ongoing renovations on the historic boat.

In late May Urban Commons revealed that the Queen Mary's famous funnels are going to return to their original hue, thanks to a Cunard Red paint chip found attached to a decades-old plaque.

So which will happen first, boat buffs: The painting of the funnels or the debut of the hidden room? 

Another delightful mystery, but then many visitors do like delightful mysteries where the Queen Mary is concerned.

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