The theater was built by Cuthbert Burbage, the brother of the most famous Shakespearean actor of the Elizabethan

Age, Richard Burbage. It was one of four major theatres in the area. The Globe was built during Shakespeare's early period in 1599. The open-air, octagonal amphitheater rose three stories high with a diameter of approximately 100 feet, holding a seating capacity of up to 3,000 spectators. The rectangular stage platform on which the plays were performed was nearly 43 feet wide and 28 feet deep. This staging area probably housed trap doors in its flooring and primitive rigging overhead for various stage effects. There where no roofs In 1613, the original Globe Theatre burned to the ground when a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII ignited the thatched roof of the gallery. The company completed a new Globe on the foundations of its predecessor before Shakespeare's death. It continued operating until 1642, when the Puritans closed it down (and all the other theatres, as well as any place, for that matter, where people might be entertained). Puritans razed the building two years later in 1644 to build tenements upon the premises. The Globe would remain a ghost for the next 352 years

The 21 year lease for the ground upon which The Theatre had been built was due to expire at the end of 1597. The ground

landlord of The Theater was called Giles Allen. A grasping man, he disapproved of theatrical productions, the theatre in general, and raised the price of the lease of The Theatre to an exorbitant level. The troupe failed to agree new terms and when the lease of The Theatre finally expired the Chamberlain's men were forced to move to The Curtain Theater , another public playing house near The Theatre. All attempts to negotiate the new tenancy and lease agreement of The Theatre failed and Giles Allen planned to pull down the Theatre and capitalise on the building materials. But Burbage found a clause in their former lease allowing them to dismantle the Theatre building. The players decided to pull down The Theatre and transport the timber to a new Theater site on Bankside in Southwark. The work of demolishing the Theatre and transporting the timber across the River Thames was noisily undertaken by the Acting Troupe themselves. Giles Allen was absolutely furious. A new theatre would be built learning from both the mistakes and successes of the original ' Theatre '. The new theater was called The Globe.

This theatre could hold several thousand people! The Globe Theatre didnt just show plays. It was also reputed to be a brothel and gambling house. It was situated on the South bank

of the river Thames in Southwark. The old Globe Theatre was a magnificent amphitheatre, as shown in the picture at the top of the page. Maps of London clearly show the architecture of the Globe Theatre, and these have enabled an approximate picture of the old Globe Theatre to be drawn. Not one inside picture of the old Globe Theatre is in existence, however, a picture of another amphitheatre, the Swan, has survived. The amphitheatres were similar in design, so the picture of the Swan Theatre can be used a good guide to the structure of the old Globe

The Globe, built by carpenter Peter Smith and his workers, was the most magnificent theater that London had ever seen and built in 1597 -1598.

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