New Port Richey, Florida has historical ties to the silent film era, as silent film actor Thomas Meighan was interested in developing the area as a potential "Hollywood of the East" movie studio in the 1920s. Several notable celebrities like Jesse Lasky, Babe Ruth, Irving Berlin and Gloria Swanson invested in the community. While the Great Depression halted these plans, several homes, the Hacienda Hotel from 1927 and the Meighan Theatre from 1926 remain as remnants of New Port Richey's brief time as a prospective film industry hub.