Shakespeare's Globe in May 2003
The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 in London by Shakespeare's playing company and was destroyed by fire in 1613 when sparks from a cannon landed on the thatched roof during a performance. A second Globe Theatre was rebuilt by 1614. A modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, called Shakespeare's Globe, was built in 1997 nearby. The original Globe Theatre was predominantly built of timber with a thatched roof, three tiers of galleries, and held over 1,500 people.