Collection Guide
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Old Globe Theatre Records
MS-0047
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Table of contents
Description
The Old Globe Theatre Records document the operation, administration, creative history, development, and growth of California's longest-running not-for-profit
regional theatre. The records contain detailed documentation of numerous productions, correspondence, promotional materials,
and organizational and administrative records. The Old Globe Theatre Records are divided into fifteen series: Historical Files, Administrative Files, Correspondence, Financial Files, Marketing Files, Development Files, Globe Guilders, Labor Unions and Professional Associations, Events, Facilities, Productions, Community Development Programs, Education Files, Scrapbooks, and Audio-Visual Materials.
Background
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.
Extent
217.73 Linear Feet
Restrictions
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.
Availability
This collection is open for research, with the exception of the Audio/Visual materials. Many of the items in the A/V collection
require transfer to an accessible format in order to become available for research.