CNN - Titanic monument to a shipwreck survivor

The Molly Brown house museum in Denver

The 'Unsinkable' Molly Brown

Titanic monument to shipwreck survivor popular in Denver

January 19, 1998
Web posted at: 12:37 p.m. EDT (1237 GMT)

DENVER (CNN) -- It's one of those tourist attractions that seems out of place. In the Rocky Mountain West -- 2,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean -- stands a monument to one of the greatest disasters at sea: the sinking of the Titanic.

But the historic mansion and museum in downtown Denver have some strong ties to the White Star Line's "unsinkable" luxury ship. At one time, the Molly Brown House Museum was the fashionable home of one of the sunken ship's most famous survivors.

"Molly Brown represents sort of the American dream," said Leigh Grinstead, the museum's director. "She was a fairly poor working class girl who came and married well. He struck it rich."

In the late 1800s, the Browns made their fortune from gold discovered high in the Colorado mountains. In 1894, the family settled in Denver. Molly Brown lived on and off in the Victorian mansion until her death in 1932.

The house was restored in the 1970s to look as it did when the Browns lived in it, and today, it is one of Denver's top tourist attractions.

The epic journey

Titanic

Molly Brown's journey aboard the Titanic secured her place in history. If you're one of the millions who have seen the epic James Cameron film in recent weeks, you probably remember her -- Kathy Bates played the role.

The Titanic was touted as the grandest ocean liner ever built. But in April 1912, on its maiden voyage from Europe to North America, the ship hit an iceberg. Within hours, it sank in the North Atlantic, taking 1,500 passengers to the icy depths with it.

Molly Brown was one of the 700 who survived.

"She really took charge of her lifeboat," said Grinstead, "got in there and taught women how to row so they would keep warm."

And her heroics continued on the rescue ship.

"When she got on board the Carpathia, she translated for widows and orphans, raised money before she ever docked in New York," Grinstead said. "She then went to testify in front of the U.S. Senate on maritime reform."

Broadway and Hollywood made tributes to the Denver socialite -- Tammy Grimes starred in the stage version and Debbie Reynolds in the film version of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" -- although Margaret Tobin Brown was called Maggie and never Molly in her lifetime.

For 85 years the Titanic has been memorialized in many ways too -- perhaps none so opulent as the latest motion picture. At a cost of more than $200 million dollars, the new "Titanic" is the most expensive film ever made. Many feared it would sink at the box office, but the film has been enthusiastically embraced by audiences.

"It's really a human story and people just don't seem to tire of it," said Grinstead.

The attention the film is generating has translated into big business for the Molly Brown House Museum. In the past few weeks, the site has seen a dramatic increase in visitors. And its Web site has generated hundreds of thousands of hits -- impressive numbers that should continue as the Titanic story continues to grip the nation.

CNN Travel Guide contributed to this report.