London Coliseum

The London Coliseum is recognizable by the giant iron globe perched atop its one hundred forty-five foot tower. This landmark on Saint Martin's Lane opened on Christmas Eve in nineteen oh four as the London Coliseum Theatre of Varieties. Its founder, an impresario named Oswald Stoll, commissioned the architect Frank Matcham to build the largest and most luxurious family venue in the city. Stoll envisioned a people's palace of entertainment that avoided the rowdy reputation of traditional music halls by welcoming families into an opulent setting of Italian Renaissance design.