As for immigrants and lower-class travellers, "Empress of Ireland" was designed with accommodations which symbolized the dramatic shift in immigrant travel on the North Atlantic commonly seen between the turn of the 20th Century and the outbreak of the First World War, that being a general layout which included both the 'old' and 'new' steerage, which combined provided accommodations for 764 passengers at the forward end of the ship. Passengers travelling in these two classes had some shared public areas, including access to the forward well deck on the Shelter Deck, as well as a large open space on the Upper Deck very similar to the open space later seen aboard "Titanic". This open space, which spanned the full width of the ship and the length of two watertight compartments, included wooden benches lining the outer walls, and a large children's sandbox enclosed by a wooden fence. At the after end of this space were two smaller public rooms, side by side against the adjacent bulkhead. On the port side was the 3rd Class Ladies' room, which included a piano, while across on the starboard side was the 3rd Class Smoke Room, complete with an adjacent bar. On the Main and Lower Decks, the accommodations separated, with the 'new' steerage, more commonly referred to as Third Class, providing for 494 passengers, and the 'old' steerage providing for 270 passengers. Accommodation for Third Class consisted of four sections of two, four and six berth cabins, three on the Main Deck and one on the Lower Deck, and defined by watertight bulkheads. Directly aft of the section on the Main Deck was the Third Class Dining Room, which was large enough to seat 300 passengers in one sitting. The old steerage consisted of three sections of open berths, one on the Main Deck and two on the Lower Deck, all forward of the Third Class sections. Each section consisted of two-tiered bunks, individual pantries and long wooden tables with benches.