LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A piece of the Titanic is getting a facelift.
"The Big Piece" is the largest piece of the Titanic ever raised from the ocean floor. Using lift bags, an expedition team was able to recover the 15-ton piece from 12,500 feet below in 1998.
It is now part of Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, which is located at the Luxor Hotel and Casino. The exhibition opened in December 2008.
"With more than 22 million visitors to date, we consistently see how Titanic resonates and touches everyone," Arnie Geller, Chairman and CEO of Premier Exhibitions, said at the time. "Each of us can relate to someone on Titanic and the retelling of her story feeds our curiosity time and again."
RELATED LINK: Why are people so fascinated with the Titanic?
Every now and then, artifacts need to be cared for in order for them to remain in good condition. That's happening this week at the Luxor as crews make sure "The Big Piece" is in good condition.
"We are doing what we called conservation maintenance, which is basically dusting, cleaning, and rewaxing the piece, which is important because the dust can hold moisture and cause corrosion," said Conservator Joseph Sembrat. "In this case, the piece is looking great and just needing some tender, loving care."
You may not know this but Clark County has ties to the Titanic.
First-class passengers Virginia Estelle McDowell Clark and Walter Miller Clark were traveling on the "Ship of Dreams" as a belated honeymoon trip. Clark and his brother, U.S. Senator William Andrews Clark, built the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad to facilitate shipments between Los Angeles and Salt Lake. The midway point of the route was in Nevada, creating Las Vegas and later resulting in the naming of Clark County.
Walter didn't survive the trip. However, Virginia did.
The exhibition has previously featured items that belonged to the couple including gambling chips, an 18-Carat gold locket engraved with Virginia's initials, a cuff link made of Ottoman Turkish coins, and a brass shaving stick canister.
You can learn more about the exhibit here.
