The Old Globe Theatre Photograph Collection documents the photographic history of the Old Globe Theatre and contains four series: Productions; Shakespeare Festival; Events, Programs, and Facilities; and Portraits and Publicity Stills. The first three series are arranged chronologically, with oversized photographs listed at the end of each series. The Productions series (1934-2006) is the largest of the collection. Photographs include production stills, head shots, staging, behind-the-scenes, and premiere events. Many of the files also contain photograph proofs and press releases. The Shakespeare Festival series (1949-2005) includes production stills from the Old Globe's annual San Diego National Shakespeare Festivals and the summer festivals which took its place during its 20-year hiatus. Associated events, such as Shakespeare on the Green, are also included in this series. Most of the series is arranged chronologically, but some productions from 1981-2000 are housed in boxes 31-33. The photographs from this series have been digitized and are available via the Library's Digital Projects image database. Events, Programs, and Facilities (1934-1993) contains various celebrations, fundraisers, educational and outreach programs, and theatre construction photographs. The Portraits and Publicity Stills series (1920-1993) is arranged alphabetically by last name of the actor or staff member. Photographs include production stills, head shots, and candid pictures of actors and Old Globe staff. Many of the individuals in this collection are not identified.

The Old Globe Theatre opened for the California Pacific International Exposition on May 29, 1935, as a temporary structure that featured 50-minute versions of Shakespeare's plays. After the success of the Exposition, local citizens raised $10,000 in 1936 to have the theater complex retrofitted as permanent structures. In February 1937, the State of California chartered the San Diego Community Theatre, a non-profit corporation, to coordinate fundraising and renovation activities for the theatre as well as to create a production company. The Community Theatre, which changed its name to the Old Globe Theatre in 1958, leased the land and buildings in Balboa Park from the City of San Diego, and continues to do so as of 2014. The renovated Old Globe Theatre opened on December 2, 1937 with John Van Druten's The Distaff Side. Aside from a six-year occupation by the U.S. Military during World War II, the theatre has operated continuously since its opening.

29.11 Linear Feet

The copyright interests in some of these materials have been transferred to or belong to San Diego State University. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. Permissions is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish.  Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

This collection is open for research.