05/27/2024
A maiden voyage photo from the Harrison family collection showing passengers walking on Sun Deck.
Note the "catwalks" used by crew members to launch the lifeboats. These catwalks lined both sides of Sun Deck. They were removed in Long Beach primarily to insert the large staircases used as entrances to the two large shopping centers that soon failed that they placed on Sun Deck. They also took out the original square windows for much larger ones, although many have been painted over for many years from the inside.
The catwalks actually provided relief from the scorching sun on the deck and probably would have been useful in California. These changes are just some of those done, perhaps with the best intentions, that turned out to be costly and counterproductive.