florida united states type film website normanstudios.org norman film studios u.s. national register of historic places restored facility in jacksonville show map of florida show map of the us location jacksonville florida coordinates 30 20 01 n 81 35 37 w 30.33361 n 81.59361 w 30.33361 ; 81.59361 coordinates 30 20 01 n 81 35 37 w 30.33361 n 81.59361 w 30.33361 ; 81.59361 nrhp reference 14001084 1 added to nrhp december 29 2014 norman studios was an american film studio in jacksonville florida . founded by richard edward norman the studio produced silent films featuring all african american casts from 1920 to 1928 . the only surviving studio from the period of early filmmaking in jacksonville its facilities are now the norman studios silent film museum . one of the most prominent studios creating films for black audiences in the silent era norman s films featured all black casts with protagonists in positive roles . during its run it produced eight feature length films and numerous shorts ; its only surviving film the flying ace has been restored by the library of congress . the studio transitioned to distribution and promotion after the rise of talking pictures made its technology obsolete and eventually closed . in the 21st century the studio s facilities were restored and re purposed as a museum . contents 1 history 1.1 early history 1.2 richard norman 1.3 race films 1.3.1 the flying ace 1.4 decline 1.5 gloria norman school of dance 2 revitalization 2.1 rediscovery 2.2 norman studios silent film museum 3 board of directors 4 list of films 5 references 6 external links history edit early history edit during the early 20th century the emerging film industry that was traditionally located in new york built a new home in northeast florida so they could continue filming during the winter . jacksonville became known as the winter film capital of the world . 2 eagle film studios which would later become norman studios was built in 1916 . 3 the five buildings composing the studio would go bankrupt in the following years . richard norman edit richard e. norman born in middleburg florida in 1891 4 richard edward norman started his career in the midwest by making movies for white audiences in the 1910s . he filmed events or people acting out skits and screened these films at the local theatre church or school . his first silent film was the green eyed monster 1916 an all white love drama set in the railroad industry . norman moved to jacksonville during the height of the film industry and bought the studio in 1920 at the age of 29 . it may be that norman occupied the studios before purchasing them 5 because in 1919 norman s first all black film a remake of the green eyed monster with an added comedic element was released . the comedic elements made the film a flop but when reedited to cut out the comedy the film became a success to african american audiences . the success of the film brought attention to the studio from other african american actors hoping to star in later films . race films edit during the time films with an african american cast and shown specifically to african american audiences were known as race films . norman studios produced several of these films during the 1920s . richard norman s reason to produce race films was not solely a business decision as some would believe . 6 although the studio was indeed filling a niche norman was also motivated by the state of race relations at the time . 7 the untapped black filmgoer market and the plethora of talented performers unable to get work in mainstream films lead to the production of race films by norman studios . later films produced by norman studios include the love bug 1919 ; the bull dogger 1921 a western ; the crimson skull 1922 another western ; regeneration 1923 an action adventure set on an island after a shipwreck ; the flying ace 1926 norman s most famous film ; and black gold 1928 a drama set around the oil business . the flying ace edit norman studios poster for the flying ace 1926 the only film from norman studios to be restored and kept in the library of congress the flying ace was dubbed the greatest airplane thriller ever filmed . 4 it was filmed entirely on the ground but used camera tricks to imply movement and altitude for the stationary airplanes . the film was inspired by aviators like bessie coleman who sent a letter to norman studios expressing a wish to create a film based on her life . 8 the plot of the film revolves around a former world war i fighter pilot returning home to his previous job of a railroad company detective . once back he has to solve a case involving stolen money and a missing employee in order to catch the thieves . the film is the only one from the period known to have survived . 9 the library of congress keeps a copy of the film as it is deemed culturally significant . 6 nowadays the flying ace is screened occasionally across the nation . 10 decline edit norman studios run as a producer of race films came to a close due to a couple of factors . one such factor was the advent of talking films . richard norman invested and developed a system to sync audio to the moving images . units were sold to theaters in the nation but unfortunately a new method of putting sound on film debuted making norman s system obsolete . 11 filmmakers were already steadily making an exodus to southern california which emerged as a new hub for films . in 1917 john w. martin was elected mayor of jacksonville on an anti film campaign intending to curb the wild excesses of the film industry . 12 filmmakers did not help their cause by filming car chases on the streets on sundays pulling alarms to film fire trucks or accidentally inciting riots . 13 by the 1930s the film industry had moved on from jacksonville while norman studios became a distributor of films and then richard norman began exhibiting films in the 1940s . 14 gloria norman school of dance edit gloria norman the wife of richard norman began teaching dance in 1935 on the second floor of the main production and film printing building . 11 richard who was still in the film business by producing industrial films for the pure oil co. and distributing joe louis fight films felt the sounds of dancing were too loud . a dance floor was built in the set building which is now used as the site for the circle of faith ministries and is the sole building of the original five not owned by jacksonville currently . 3 after gloria sold the studio in 1976 14 the building became the location for a variety of companies such as plumbing and telephone answering services . 6 revitalization edit rediscovery edit only when ann burt a local resident discovered that the dilapidated buildings were actually an important movie studio in another time were there efforts to make the former site of norman studios into a museum . as a member of the old arlington inc an arlington area preservationist group burt was able to bring together others to save the site . 14 norman studios silent film museum edit three years after the movement began 15 the city of jacksonville bought four of the original five buildings for 260 000 in april 2002 . 6 the structures acquired were the main production and processing building a small cottage for costume changes a storage shed and a building that holds the original power generators for the cameras and lights . it was not until february 2004 that the city received a grant from the state of florida to help preserve and restore the aging complex . 15 their 140 000 grant was used for emergency roofing security lighting a security system and the largest chunk was paid to kenneth smith architects to redesign the complex into its future life as the norman studios silent film museum . 16 restoration of the exterior of the property completed in about 2008 16 while more fundraising has been done to try to purchase the fifth building from the circle of faith ministries . currently jacksonville is beginning the process to transfer the norman studios silent film museum to the national park service . the move will allow the federal government to pay for the preservation and restoration of the studio as well as the operation of the buildings . 9 transferring the buildings to the national park service will help refurbish the interior of the buildings which the city and the museum group have been unable to afford . board of directors edit capt. richard e. & kathy norman devan stuart board chair media & publicity director anthony hodge board co chair webmaster rita reagan historian community & education outreach director patricia hodge treasurer laura lavernia secretary emily rose corporate outreach director cher davis web designer social media strategist communications committee nicholas clancy amy lynn calfee erminda flores meredith tano chris lesley list of films edit sleepy sam the sleuth 1915 the love bug 1919 the green eyed monster 1919 the bull dogger 1921 the crimson skull 1922 regeneration 1923 the flying ace 1926 black gold 1928 references edit norman film studios . national park service . retrieved 2015 11 03 . 1 dead link a b graphicstation . the past norman studios preserving the legacy of silent film in northeast florida . normanstudios.org . retrieved 2014 01 14 . a b graphicstation 2010 10 18 . richard norman norman studios preserving the legacy of silent film in northeast florida . normanstudios.org . retrieved 2014 01 14 . bowser 2001 p. 316 a b c d comeback role in works for an old movie legend . jacksonville.com . 2002 05 20 . retrieved 2014 01 14 . mccarthy 2007 p. 63 hart 1996 p. 62 a b jacksonville prepares to transfer historic norman studio to federal park system members.jacksonville.com . jacksonville.com . retrieved 2014 01 14 . graphicstation 2011 05 13 . progress report norman studios preserving the legacy of silent film in northeast florida . normanstudios.org . retrieved 2014 01 14 . a b 2 archived july 27 2011 at the wayback machine . why the city never got a hard rock 06 14 98 . florida times union . retrieved 2012 05 10 . word ron 2008 09 05 . before there was hollywood there was fla. s own jacksonville . theledger.com . retrieved 2014 01 14 . a b c clarke 2002 gainesville sun a b city lands grant for studio restoration . bizjournals.com . retrieved 2004 02 19 . a b bean 2008 p. 156 sources bean shawn c. the first hollywood florida and the golden age of silent filmmaking . gainesville university of florida 2008 . isbn 0 8130 3243 1 bowser pearl jane gaines and charles musser . oscar micheaux and his circle african american filmmaking and race cinema of the silent era . bloomington indiana up 2001 . isbn 0 253 33994 4 clarke ken . silent film studios may soon be rescued . gainesville sun 22 sept. 2002 . print . hart philip s. up in the air the story of bessie coleman . minneapolis carolrhoda 1996 . isbn 0 87614 978 6 mccarthy kevin . african american sites in florida . sarasota fl pineapple 2007 . isbn 1 56164 385 8 external links edit official website norman studios at the internet movie database richard e. norman collection at indiana university bloomington black film center archive v t e jacksonville landmarks buildings and structures bridges acosta bridge buckman bridge dames point bridge fuller warren bridge