Richey Suncoast Theatre

Last updated
Richey Suncoast Theatre Meighan Theatre.JPG
Richey Suncoast Theatre

Richey Suncoast Theatre is a historic former movie theatre built in 1925 and later restored for use as a playhouse and community theatre in New Port Richey, Florida. It is named for silent film star Thomas Meighan and opened as the Meighan Theatre on July 1, 1926 with a screening of Meighan's movie The New Klondike . Meighan himself was not present but sent a congratulatory telegram. [1]

Contents

In 1930 sound was added to the theatre. Meighan himself appeared to push the start button for the sound. The theatre closed in 1934 due to the Great Depression. It reopened in 1938 as a community theatre under the name The New Port Richey Theatre. [1]  : Richey Suncoast Theatre. [2]

The theatre hosts the Black Maria Film and Video Festival. [3]

Background

Meighan's interest in Florida developed after talks with his Realtor brother James E. Meighan. He bought property in Ocala, Florida in 1925. In 1927, he built a home in New Port Richey, Florida where he spent his winters. He intended to shoot his film We're All Gamblers there, however, filming was moved to Miami. The Meighans also hoped to draw other celebrities to the area. [1] Meighan had a vision for New Port Richey to be an eastern U.S. version of Hollywood. This plan failed as the property boom in Florida busted in the 1920s and the 1929 stock market crash set off the period known as the Great Depression. [3]

Related Research Articles

Richard Barthelmess American actor

Richard Semler Barthelmess was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920) and was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927. The following year, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for two films: The Patent Leather Kid and The Noose.

Pasco County, Florida County in Florida, United States

Pasco County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2010 census, the population was 464,697. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is New Port Richey. The county is named after Samuel Pasco.

Elfers, Florida CDP in Florida, United States

Elfers is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was 13,161 at the 2000 census.

New Port Richey, Florida City in Florida

New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Sarasota, Florida City in Florida, United States

Sarasota is a city in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is at the southern end of the Tampa Bay Area, north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2019 Sarasota had a population of 58,285. In 1986 it became designated as a certified local government. Sarasota is a principal city of the Sarasota metropolitan area, and is the seat of Sarasota County. Long the winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus, many landmarks in Sarasota are named for the Ringlings.

Edisons Black Maria Film production company

The Black Maria was Thomas Edison's film production studio in West Orange, New Jersey. It is widely referred to as "America's First Movie Studio".

Carl Davis American-born conductor and composer

Carl Davis, is an American-born conductor and composer who has made his home in the United Kingdom since 1961.

Thomas Meighan American actor

Thomas Meighan was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he commanded $10,000 per week.

Virginia Valli American actress

Virginia Valli was an American stage and film actress whose motion picture career started in the silent film era and lasted until the beginning of the sound film era of the 1930s.

Somerville Theatre

The Somerville Theatre is an independent movie theater and concert venue in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. Over one hundred years old, the Somerville Theatre started off as a vaudeville house and movie theater. The theater has since transitioned and now operates as a live music venue and first-run movie theater. As a music venue, the theater has played host to many historic concerts, including the first of the two Last Dispatch concerts, two shows by Bruce Springsteen in 2003, and a performance by U2 in 2009. Recent live performances have included Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Cursive, Norah Jones, The Jonas Brothers, Joan Baez, and the John Butler Trio.

Starkey Wilderness Preserve Nature preserve in Pasco County, Florida, US

Starkey Wilderness Preserve is a public recreation and nature conservation area located in Pasco County, Florida. The park includes a system of hiking, bicycling, and equestrian trails, cabins and primitive camping sites, and picnic areas. It is named after Jay B. Starkey, a cattle rancher who bought the property in 1937 and later donated hundreds of acres. The Preserve consists of three tracts: the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, managed by Pasco County, and Serenova Tract and the Anclote River Ranch Tract, managed by Southwest Florida Water Management District. The area includes sections of pine flatwoods, cypress domes, freshwater marshes, stream and lake swamps, sandhill and scrub over a combined 8,500-acre (34 km2) "wetland ecosystem spread throughout approximately 18,000 acres of conservation lands". The park is located in Western Pasco County east of New Port Richey. The park includes the Starkey Trail, an approximately 6.7 mile paved multi-use trail that links up with the Suncoast Trail at its eastern terminus. There are also unimproved trails in the park. An 8-mile mountain bike trail was approved and being developed as of 2013.

<i>Soul-Fire</i> 1925 film

Soul-Fire is a 1925 American silent drama film starring Richard Barthelmess and Bessie Love. It was directed by John S. Robertson and was based on the Broadway production Great Music (1924) by Martin Brown.

<i>The New Klondike</i> 1926 film by Lewis Milestone

The New Klondike is a 1926 black-and-white silent romantic comedy sports drama film directed by Lewis Milestone for Famous Players-Lasky. The film was set against the backdrop of the Florida land boom of the 1920s, and stands as Ben Hecht's first film assignment.

<i>The Land of Promise</i> 1917 American film

The Land of Promise is a 1917 American silent comedy drama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Joseph Kaufman and starred Billie Burke and Thomas Meighan. The film is based on the 1913 play The Land of Promise by W. Somerset Maugham, in which Burke starred.

<i>Tongues of Flame</i> 1924 film

Tongues of Flame is a 1924 American silent melodrama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed through Paramount Pictures. It is based on a novel by Peter Clark MacFarlane and was directed by Joseph Henabery. The film starred Thomas Meighan and Bessie Love. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.

The New Port Richey Public Library is a public library in New Port Richey, Florida. The library is the only public library in Pasco County that is not a member of the Pasco County Library Cooperative

<i>Old Home Week</i> (film) 1925 film

Old Home Week is a 1925 American comedy silent film directed by Victor Heerman and written by George Ade and Thomas J. Geraghty. The film stars Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, Charles Dow Clark, Max Figman, Charles Sellon, Zelma Tiden and Sidney Paxton. The film was released on May 25, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>The Man Who Found Himself</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

The Man Who Found Himself is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and written by Thomas J. Geraghty based upon a story by Booth Tarkington. The film stars Thomas Meighan, Virginia Valli, Frank Morgan, Ralph Morgan, Charles A. Stevenson, and Julia Hoyt. The film was released on August 23, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.

Lee Erwin was an American theatre organist who played an important part in a revival of interest in the silent film era. His career began as an organist accompanying first-run silent films in the 1920s. He received classical training in Cincinnati and France, and then began a career as organist and arranger for radio, significantly at WLW and CBS Radio, the latter in association with Arthur Godfrey, that lasted through the mid-1960s. When his radio career ended he was commissioned to provide complete new scores for silent films exceeding seventy in number, and in this capacity and as an organist for silent film tours and exhibitions he received widespread critical acclaim. Erwin was active into his early 90s.

References

Coordinates: 28°14′58″N82°43′11″W / 28.24958°N 82.71981°W / 28.24958; -82.71981