Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Old Globe Theatre is a Shakespeare-inspired playhouse in Balboa Park, San Diego, and the heart of one of the best-known regional theatre companies in the United States. It began as a replica of the Globe in London and was rebuilt after a fire in 1978, so the place you see today is a story of loss and local determination.

The story behind it

The theatre was built in the 1930s in the style of an Elizabethan playhouse, modelled on Shakespeare's Globe in London. Over the decades it grew from a modest replica into a working theatre complex that stages plays all year.

In 1978 an arsonist burned the building to the ground. Residents rallied, donations and funding poured in, and a redesigned, covered complex rose in its place and reopened within a few years. Overhead, the tall California Tower belongs to the California Building, now home to the Museum of Us. It was constructed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and has become a symbol of Balboa Park and of San Diego itself.

What to look for

• The timber-framed, Tudor-style look of the theatre buildings, which echoes the Elizabethan original in London.
• The California Tower rising above the trees nearby, with its richly decorated tiles and dome.
• The way the rebuilt complex sits among the gardens and paths of Balboa Park, with several stages grouped together.
• Posters and signs for the current season, which show what is on stage right now.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about 15 to 20 minutes to look around the outside, or longer if you are coming for a performance.
• Late afternoon and early evening are pleasant, when the light softens on the buildings and the park is calmer.
• You can see the exterior and surroundings freely, but going inside generally means attending a show or event, so check current schedules.
• The Museum of Us and the California Tower are close by. Check current opening hours and tour availability if you want to go up for the views.

See it on a quest

Balboa Park rewards slow walking, and a quest turns that walk into a route. San Diego: Balboa Park Adventure brings you to the Old Globe on foot as one stop of a longer route through the park. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

If you like a playful angle, San Diego: The Animals Have Fled the Zoo. is a self-guided route in the same part of the city. You walk from place to place, hear the story of each stop and solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Prefer something moodier? Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Balboa Park, San Diego is a murder mystery quest through the park. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join, and the app explains each place as you reach it. One ticket covers the whole group.