Editing SS Imperator (section)

===Interiors===
The architect and designer [[Charles Mewès]] was responsible for the interior design of the ''Imperator'' and his sister ships.<ref>{{cite book| title=A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture| author=James Stevens Curl| publisher=Oxford University Press| year=2006| page=484|oclc=64585874}}</ref> One German critic commented on the prevalence of French-style décor on the new ship: {{blockquote|[[Style Louis XVI|Louis XVI]] seems to be the real ''Imperator''...judging by the decorative effects with which the world's biggest liner is embellished...the ladies saloon in Colonial, the smoking room in Flemish, the swimming pool in Pompeiian, the wintergarten in Louis XVI, the parlor in Louis XVI. - Louis XVI everywhere. Where is there any manifestation of present-day German style...the company, of course, must cater to the international public, especially Americans."<ref>Rotka, William (2018). "Building Luxurious Ocean Liners for the Transatlantic Elite in the Early Twentieth Century", ''Yearbook of Transnational History''. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; pg. 120. {{oclc|1045186146}}</ref>}}

One contemporary review noted how the ship's "great size...has enabled her designers to allow unusual space for passenger accommodation."<ref name= "engineer">{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VmTQPYq2wBQC&dq=imperator+pompeiian+swimming+pool&pg=PA468| title=The Marine Engineer & Naval Architect| date=July 1913| volume=35| pages=467–468}}</ref> This was echoed in ''The Master, Mate, and Pilot'', which stated that "taking advantage of his great dimensions, the ships' public cabins, and staterooms have been made so large as to avoid any suggestion of crowding."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ywAAAAAMAAJ&dq=imperator+pompeiian+swimming+pool&pg=PA66| title=S.S. "Imperator" The World's Largest Ship| publisher=The Master, Mate, and Pilot| date=June 1913| volume=6| page=65}}</ref> Space-saving devices like berths and folding washbasins were eliminated in the First-Class staterooms on ''Imperator'', all of which had free-standing beds and marble-topped washstands with hot and cold running water. Almost all First-Class cabins were "outside" cabins, meaning they had portholes or windows for natural light and ventilation. Over 200 cabins were reserved for single occupancy, and 150 had en-suite bathrooms.<ref name= "engineer"/> The two "Imperial" suites had 12 rooms each, including a breakfast room, private veranda, sitting room, and servants' quarters.<ref name="master">{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ywAAAAAMAAJ&dq=imperator+pompeiian+swimming+pool&pg=PA66| title=S.S. "Imperator" The World's Largest Ship| publisher=The Master, Mate, and Pilot| date=June 1913| volume=6| pages=65–66}}</ref>

The main First-Class dining room was on F Deck and there were two restaurants on B Deck. The main dining room could accommodate 700 diners at tables for between 2 and 8 people. The Ritz-Carlton restaurant, which was joined with a [[winter garden]]/palm court in the [[Directoire style]], was managed by staff from the [[Carlton Hotel, London|Carlton Hotel]] in London. There was also a Grill Room at the aft end of B Deck, a tea garden, and a Veranda café.<ref name="engineering"/> Other First-Class public rooms included a 72-foot-long lounge/ballroom, several ladies sitting rooms, and a smoking room. The [[Tudor architecture|Tudor style]] smoking room was decorated with brick from a demolished Tudor-era cottage in England.<ref name="engineer"/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=maFOAQAAMAAJ| title=Some Facts Regarding Size of Marine Marvel, Imperator| publisher=Railway and Marine News| year=1913| page=19}}</ref> The lounge, or "Social Hall", as it was called, was hung with [[Gobelins Manufactory|Gobelins]] tapestries and included a stage for theatrical performances to be held. In the evening the carpet could be removed for dancing.<ref name="master"/><ref name="engineering">{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=13G2KV-KSh8C&q=imperator| title=The Hamburg-Amerika Liner "Imperator"| publisher=Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal| date=20 June 1913| pages=827–828}}</ref> Off the entrance halls were amenities like a bookshop, florist, pharmacy, doctor's office, and the offices of the purser, chief steward, and baggage master.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VmTQPYq2wBQC&dq=imperator+pompeiian+swimming+pool&pg=PA468| title=The Marine Engineer & Naval Architect| date=July 1913| volume=35| page=467}}</ref>

''Imperator'' introduced a two-deck-high, [[Pompeii]]an-style swimming pool for its First-Class passengers. It was inspired by a similar swimming pool built in London in 1907 for the [[Royal Automobile Club]], of which Charles Mewès was also one of the architects.<ref name=miller/>{{rp|28}} Connected to the pool were [[Victorian Turkish baths|Victorian-style Turkish baths]],<ref>Shifrin, Malcolm (2015). ''Victorian Turkish baths''. Swindon: Historic England. pp.257—258 {{oclc|
929684255}}</ref> steam baths, [[electric bath]]s, massage and hairdressing rooms. The gymnasium was "the largest and most luxurious that has ever been fitted up on a passenger steamer...", according to ''The Marine Engineering and Naval Architect''.<ref name="engineer"/> For the first time on an ocean liner, Second-Class had its own gymnasium as well. Second-Class passengers also had their own smoking room, reading and writing rooms, dining room, and music room.<ref name="engineer"/>

While the Cunard refit changed plates identifying switches and valves were reversed and reinscribed in English, drains in cabin bathtubs remained marked ''AUF'' and ''ZU'' and ashtrays still read ''ZIGARREN''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maxtone-Graham |first1=John |title=The Only Way to Cross |date=1997 |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books |isbn=0760706379 |page=165}}</ref>