SS France
The France's interiors were where the ship displayed its purpose as a showcase of modern French art and design. However, the interior designers were burdened with the pressure of living up to France's last great Ship of State, the SS Normandie, whose interiors had been on a scale never surpassed either before or since her construction. On top of this they had to work within the more strict fire regulations laid down after the end of World War II, which gave them a limited palette consisting of few woods and much aluminium, Formica, and plastic veneers. This was very much like the interiors of the SS United States, put into service nearly ten years previous, and inspired the design of the public rooms on the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 eight years later. Also, fire regulations would not allow the France to have the grand vistas that were constructed through the Normandie's main First Class rooms. The France's only double-height spaces were the theatre, First Class smoking room, and both First and Tourist Class dining rooms.
One area given an unusual amount of attention was the ship's kitchens; 1,500 square meters in area, and placed almost amidships, between the two dining rooms which the one kitchen served. It was thought by the CGT directors that the France would not only display the best in French art and design, but also French cuisine. The kitchens were equipped with the most advanced machinery available, as well as many traditional cooking aides, including a stove that was 12 meters long and 2.5 meters wide. Staffed with 180 of France's best cooks, sauce and pastry chefs, rotisserie cooks, head waiters and wine stewards, this team made the France one of the finest restaurants in the world, and the food on board prompted food critic Craig Claiborne to state France's Grille Room was the "best French restaurant in the world."
The France's dog kennels were located on the Sun Deck, and, as they served both European and American dogs, the run was installed with both a Parisian milestone and a New York City fire hydrant.
For First Class passengers, the Pont Veranda (Veranda Deck) held most of the public rooms. These included the Library and Reading Room, Smoking Room, Grand Salon, and balcony of the theatre, which was dedicated to First Class passengers only. These rooms were arranged down the centre of the ship, with large, glass enclosed promenades to either side. The Library was a circular room with glass and lacquered aluminum enclosed book-cases all around, holding 2,200 editions, and was overseen by an attendant who regulated the borrowing and returning of books, as well as assisting passengers with their choices. The Grand Salon had a raised ceiling in the centre, over the abstract grey and white marble mosaic dance floor, with lower more intimate spaces at the corners. The theatre, which functioned both as a Proscenium and cinema, sat 185 in the balcony, and 479 on the orchestra level, and had a projection booth which could handle 16, 35, and 70 mm film. Until the 1990s it was the largest theatre ever constructed on a ship. However, one of the main showpieces of the First Class salons was the Smoking Room at the very aft of the Pont Veranda. Two stories high, with a raised section in the centre flanked by large columns, and double-height windows to port and starboard, the room was one of the most imposing aboard the ship.
One level down was Pont Promenade, the main Tourist Class deck. The main lounges and rooms here were the Library, Smoking Room, Grand Salon, and orchestra level of the theatre. Like the Pont Veranda, Pont Promenade also had a glass enclosed promenade along the port and starboard sides of the ship, though the windows did not run full height, nor were the spaces as long.
Pont A held both First Class and Tourist Class dining rooms. These rooms served as the gastronomic counterparts to the smoking rooms, in terms of importance, and thus of form and décor. The First Class Dining Room was located amidships, and spanned the full width of the ship, accommodating 400 passengers. The centre of the space rose to a circular dome, some 5.5 m (18 ft) high, and as on Normandie, passengers entered from one deck up (Pont Principale) and descended a grand, central staircase to the main dining room floor. Glassware, of which there was 4,800 wine and water glasses, was provided by Saint-Louis crystal factory, and tableware consisted of 22,000 china items, with 25,500 pieces of silverware. The Tourist Class Dining Room similarly was two decks high, but differed in that it had dining on the upper level, with only a well between the two floors, and no connecting staircase. It was placed aft of the kitchens, and sat 826 people. Next to the upper level of this dining room was the Children's Dining Room, which allowed both First and Second class parents to dine without the "inconvenience" of young children.
After the first few of the France's cruises, CGT executives realised that there was a problem regarding the naming of the public rooms. After her entrance into service, the rooms were simply known as the "First Class Grand Salon," "First Class Dining Room," "Tourist Class Library," etc. However, during a cruise, where class barriers were withdrawn and all passengers were allowed to use all the spaces equally, it became a slight embarrassment for a passenger travelling in a large cabin to ask a steward for directions to the Tourist Class Dining Room. Hence, proper names were applied to each room to avoid the issue:
- First Class Salon - Salon Fontainebleau
- First Class Music Room - Salon Debussy
- First Class Card Room - Salon Monaco
- First Class Smoking Room - Salon Riviera
- First Class Dining Room - Salle à Manger Chambord
- Tourist Class Salon - Salon Saint Tropez
- Tourist Class Music Room - Salon Ravel
- Tourist Class Smoking Room - Cafe Rive Gauche
- Tourist Class Dining Room - Salle à Manger Versailles
Some anomalies that contravened the class lines were Bar de l'Atlantique, essentially an after-hours club for drinking and dancing late into the night which was open to both First and Tourist Class passengers, the Tourist Children’s' Playroom, and the Chapel, open as well to both classes, all of which were located on First Class Pont Veranda.
Read more about this topic: SS France (1961), Design, Interior