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The Hacienda Hotel, on Main Street, is a 55-room Spanish-style luxury hotel completed in 1927 by George J. Becker and Warren E. Burns. Silent screen stars Thomas Meighan & Gloria Swanson, and local promoter George Sims owned the hotel, and Meighan's brother provided the land. They intended to attract the west coast motion picture industry to Florida. In fact, several silent films were produced in the rural area, and several actors built mansions along the nearby Pithlachascottee River. Screen star Ed Wynn served as master of ceremonies at the hotel's grand opening, attended by other Hollywood luminaries such as Lupe Valez, Ann Hardking, Meighan and Swanson.
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In 1925 it seemed possible that New Port Richey, Florida, might become another Hollywood. Thomas Meighan, one of the top stars of the silent screen, had purchased property and was about to build a mansion on the Pithlachascotee River. He hoped to convince other figures from Hollywood to move to New Port Richey. A new theater under construction was to be named for Meighan.
The Hollywood connection to New Port Richey had begun a number of years earlier, when Earl Benham, an actor, costumer, and songwriter, purchased some large tracts of land on high ground overlooking the Cotee River. Benham’s wife was sister to the wife of Raymond Hitchcock, a comic star. The Hitchcocks visited New Port Richey in the 1920s. Benham also sold tracts of land to Thomas Meighan and his brother James E. Meighan. In early 1926, the local weekly newspaper, the New Port Richey Press, reported that songwriter Irving Berlin, bandleader Paul Whiteman, and Raymond Hitchcock had purchased property in the town; these reports, however, may have been untrue.
On Aug. 8, 1925, the St. Petersburg Times reported:
Plans have been set on foot at an enthusiastic meeting of New Port Richeyites for the construction of a 100-room fire-proof hotel. Within a few minutes after the meeting was called to order nearly the entire capital required was subscribed.
The site selected is a tract overlooking the beautiful Pithlachascotee river, north of the Gulf high school building, and in the exact center of population. The site has the further advantage of being located within a short distance of the proposed station of the West Coast railway, now an assured fact.
The structure will be of the most modern construction and will be either of Moorish or Spanish type. There will be in the first unit 55 rooms, elegantly appointed, and each room equipped with private bath. The hotel grounds will overlook the river for more than 300 feet and are well shaded with palms and other semi-tropical forest growth and shrubbery.
The estimated cost is $150,000 and the structure will be ready for opening before the beginning of January.
On Dec. 31, 1925, the St. Petersburg Times reported: “An operating company comprising business men of New Port Richey, Miami, Boston, and New York have deposited earnest money on a site chosen for a combined hotel and country club which it is expected will be under construction within sixty days. The new hotel, according to present designs, will have rooms with baths for 100 guests, and will be known as “The Hacienda.” The architecture will be of morrocco-type. It will be designed in wings, with a spacious terrace in the center.”
On the night of May 25-26, 1926, the Enchantment Inn, New Port Richey’s major hotel, was destroyed by fire. (The hotel had also been known as the Inn and the Sass Hotel.) By June 1926 the officers and directors of the Community Hotel, Inc., had approved plans for a new hotel which, it was hoped, might help to attract Hollywood celebrities. The architect selected was Thomas Reed Martin of Sarasota. The officers of the corporation were Warren E. Burns, president; James E. Meighan, vice-president; James H. Becker, vice president and treasurer; and Charles F. Hoffman, secretary. Directors were Warren E. Burns, James H. Becker, Edward C. Blum (?), C. W. Barnett, Edward P. Campbell, Charles F. De Woody, Frank I. Grey, Charles F. Hoffman, Dr. William W. Hunt, Moses A. Fullington, James E. Meighan, Richard Morgan, Leland C. Poole, Fred A. Shaw, George R. Sims, Charles E. Snell, Edgar A. Wright. The executive committee consisted of Warren E. Burns, James H. Becker, James E. Meighan, Charles F. Hoffman, and George R. Sims.
On June 4, 1926, the New Port Richey Press reported, “The plans call for a modern, fifty-room hotel of extreme Spanish design, equipped with a steam-heating plant and comfortably furnished throughout. Several unique features of design are planned for the hotel. It will have an open-air dining room, for one thing, and the patio-effect of the dining place will be bordered by palms. The dining room and lobby will be beamed in Spanish grille fashion. Paintings of the lobby and main dining room interiors are on display at the Chamber of Commerce rooms.”
A September 1926 newspaper article referred to the new Community Hotel, and quoted Oliver LeMay, supervisor of construction, as saying that he hoped construction would be completed by New Year’s Day.
On Aug. 12, 1926, the St. Petersburg Evening Independent reported, “Ground was broken yesterday for the New Port Richey community hotel. This building is being erected by the Burns-Becker company of that city, for the New Port Richey Hotel association. The movement was sponsored by the Civitan club. The hotel will be built of hollow tile, stucco finish, and will contain 50 rooms.”
On Nov. 12, 1926, the name Hacienda Hotel was chosen for the new hotel, according to a 1974 article by Wilfred Neill, which also reported that about $30,000 worth of furnishings were bought from the Tampa Hardware Co. on Dec. 10, 1926.
A 1927 Tampa Tribune article reported that the hotel cost $100,000 and furnishings cost an additional $30,000. The Tribune article also stated, “The building was erected, furnished and received its first guests in 184 days from the day of the breaking of the ground, a record in itself in rapid high grade construction.”
The property for the hotel was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James E. Meighan. Wilfred Neill wrote in a 1974 newspaper column, “The corporation issued 2,500 shares of preferred stock at $100 each, par. It also issued 2,500 shares of common stock, with a nominal value of $20 each. On March 15 a drive was begun, and by March 19, two-thirds of the necessary money had been raised.”
The informal opening of the Hacienda Hotel took place on Feb. 5, 1927, when the first guests were welcomed, dinner was served, and the hotel was thrown open for inspection. Eight hundred persons attended, according to the New Port Richey Press, which reported, "The outpouring of citizens was the largest since New Port Richey was settled."
Arthur A. Boardman was named manager of the Hacienda. Bennett Mallard was assistant manager, and A. R. Poole and James Tiffany were also on the staff.
According to the New Port Richey Press, the formal opening of the Hacienda took place on Feb. 17, 1927. The newspaper reported that more than 120 persons attended the event sponsored by the City Club of New Port Richey. Charles F. Hoffman, President of the City Club, was the toastmaster, and the speakers were New Port Richey Mayor Edgar A. Wright, Charles E. DeWoody, Dr. W. W. Hunt (or Hurt?), and C. W. Lyons of Tampa. (Several accounts say that actor Ed Wynn was the master of ceremonies at the opening of the Hacienda. This seems unlikely, as he is not mentioned in the contemporary newspaper articles.)
The New Port Richey Press carried a photo of the Hacienda in 1930 with the caption: "Here were assembled at various times some of the most famous living celebrities of stage and screen, including Thomas Meighan, Leon Errol, Madeline Cameron, Frances Ring, Flora Zabelle, and numerous others as well as such noted writers as Bob Davis, George Ade, Ring Lardner, Hal W. Lanigan and others. Gay parties from St. Petersburg, Tampa, Clearwater and other cities motored here to enjoy the delightful atmosphere of this 'Bit of Old Spain Amid the Palms.'" Others who stayed at the Hacienda in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s were Mrs. Arthur Hammerstein (formerly known as the actress Dorothy Dalton); songwriter Walter Donaldson; attorney Clarence Darrow; W. J. Wells, general manager of Macy’s and President of the Retail Managers Association of the U. S.; and Frank Case, owner-operator of the Algonquin Hotel in New York and a writer. Pauline Stevenson Ash wrote that when she was a student at Gulf High School, she and some other students saw Gloria Swanson at the Hacienda.
According to the 1974 Wilfred Neill article, "The Hacienda weathered the Great Depression. In the years that followed, the hotel’s ownership changed several times as stock shares were bought and sold. At one time, the hotel was owned by Maxine Stein, who also had a theatrical makeup company in Los Angeles. Later owners developed a Spanish theme. An addition to the hotel was named the La Fonda steak room. The cocktail room was renamed the Matador Lounge. Bullfight posters adorned its walls. Waitresses and barmaids wore toreador pants and bolero jackets."
On Nov. 10, 1931, the St. Petersburg Evening Independent reported, “The Hacienda is to have a change in policy this season. The rates, both for rooms and for meals, will be lowered. Mrs. I. N. Vickers, proprietress of the Kentucky Inn, will have charge of the management and the dining room, and Mrs. Oneta DeWoody will be the hostess for the social activities. The hotel was built by community money and it is hoped it will now be used for the activities of the community.”
In 1935 the Community Hotel Corporation sold the Hacienda to Robert Holmes Sr., whose sons Gray and Robert Jr., managed it.
On Nov. 1, 1935, the New Port Richey Press reported that Gray Holmes and his brother Robert Holmes Jr. had recently taken over the operation of the Hacienda and expected to open for the season on November 15. It also reported that Gray Holmes had been operating a first class hotel in Douglas, Ga., for the past several years, and that Robert Holmes Jr. had had charge of the DeSota hotel in Tampa recently. The article also reported, "The hotel has been under the management of Major H. Stanford for the past several years. Major Stanford left last Spring to operate the Ferry Tavern, at Old Isle (?), Conn."
On January 25, 1938, the New Port Richey Press reported: “Thirty-three guests were registered Tuesday at the Hacienda, New Port Richey fine hotel, indicating greater travel through this section. Many of those registered will remain for some time in this section.”
On Nov. 14, 1944, the New Port Richey Press reported that the Hacienda Hotel had been sold the previous week to Rev. Dr. William T. Watson of St. Petersburg. The article reported that Watson was "a leader in religious work in St. Petersburg." It also reported, "Owing to war conditions the hotel has not been operated to full capacity in the past three years." Watson was the founder of the Florida Bible Institute at Temple Terrace.
In a recent letter to Bill W. Lanpher, President of Trinity College, Dr. Watson’s son recalled that his father purchased several hotels which he thought might be a good location for the Florida Bible College, one of which was the Hacienda. He wrote, “However, the town of New Port Richey did not want to lose their only hotel. We operated it as a hotel with no official connection to the school, of which I am aware. The school did hold their annual end of the year Banquets there.”
[It is claimed that evangelist Billy Graham worked as a waiter at the Hacienda while he was attending Bible College. However, according to his biography he actually worked as a waiter at the restaurant on the campus of Florida Bible Institute in Tampa, which he attended from 1937 to 1940. In 1969, Graham recalled that in 1937 while attending Temple Terrace Independent Bible School in Tampa, his first recreational trip and picnic was to New Port Richey.]
In 1950 Watson sold the hotel to Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Schuldt, formerly of Omaha.
In 1951 Schuldt sold the hotel to Mr. and Mrs. Morris Gates, who had operated the Delaware Towers at Chicago, and Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Merkatz, who had operated the Royal Inn at Woodbourne, N. Y.
In November 1953 the hotel was purchased by Mrs. Maxine G. Stein, formerly of Chicago.
On Dec. 24, 1953, the New Port Richey Press reported, "Currently plans are being prepared for the construction of a 75 foot swimming pool, a crescent drive from which a canopy covered walk will lead to the new Main Street entrance."
The newly furnished and redecorated Hacienda Hotel opened on Dec. 29, 1953. Ray Miller was the manager.
On June 5, 1954, the St. Petersburg Times reported: “TAMPA — A Chicago man filed suit in Federal Court here yesterday asking appointment of a receiver for the Hacienda Hotel at New Port Richey, its sale and dissolution of the owners’ partnership. The plaintiff, Raymond Miller, named Maxine G. Stein of New Port Richey as defendant. Miller said they each bought half-interest in the hotel in 1953. He alleged she agreed to pay him $20,000 for his half last February, but that she paid only $5,000. Miller said he is due $15,000 under that agreement and $5,500 spent for repairs.”
On Mar. 17, 1955, a New Port Richey Press article named Mrs. Maxine Strompsen of the Hacienda Hotel.
On Sept. 25, 1955, the New Port Richey Press reported that the hotel was sold by Mrs. Maxine Stromson to Mrs. Francis Supic, formerly of Milwaukee, and that it would reopen on Oct. 1 with Mrs. Supic’s son Karl J. Gabriel as manager. [Ownership information from the 1950s to the 1970s is currently lacking.]
On March 26, 1959, the New Port Richey Press reported that Robert Semple of Tarpon Springs purchased the Hacienda from Mrs. Frances Supic, who had owned the hotel for approximately 3 1/2 years.
The hotel staged a gala re-opening on Oct. 3, 1959, following improvements which were made during the summer months.
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