The Rose Theater
Designed and built by Philip Henslowe who thought it would be a prime location to draw in audiences. Shakespeare is believed to have performed with the Lord Stange's men before his own plays were more popular and established. The Rose was one of the prominent Elizabethan theaters. The Theater and The Curtain were the two primary contending theaters when The Rose came onto the scene. The venue didn't quite last as long as The Globe, spanning from its construction in 1587 to around 1605, and it wasn't quite as grandiose and prominent in its later years, but it still served an important part in the history of Shakespearean theater. Many troupes came and went such as The Admiral's Men , the Lord Strange's Men, and Sussex's Men. As more theaters moved into the area by the River Thames The Rose began to lose popularity and eventually had to close. The remains of the Rose were threatened by a building complex in the late 1900s but a conservation group reached a compromise to have the building built raised over what would continue to be the excavation site for The Rose theater.
The construction of the theater is quite similar to the amphitheater style seen in The Globe Theater which came 12 years afterwards. Although the shape and the seating are quite similar to The Globe, The Rose Theater probably could only hold a fourth of the audience size. At some point rennovations were made in an attempt to accomodate more seating for the Rose as it became more popular, but its maximum occupancy still didn't match that of surrounding theaters. Philip Henslowe went on to design The Hope Theater just a short distance away and died a several years after construction was complete.