City News | Taking a Tour Through Time in downtown New Port Richey

tides-bank-0625 — The Tides of Time Interactive Walking Exhibit features bronze sculptures created by St. Petersburg artis, Gillian Harper, which have been mounted on 11 historical buildings in downtown New Port Richey including the First Bank of New Port Richey on Main Street which is now the home to McPherson and Thomas, PA. Each sculpture features an accompanying QR Code that accesses a historical video of the landmark when using a mobile device. Photo | Michele Miller (June 5, 2025)

June 5, 2025

By Michele Miller
What’s What New Port Richey

The cool thing about public art is feasibility – the way it can fit into a schedule or on a whim. A welcome aside and day brightener for someone who’s going from Point A to Point B during a work day or while running errands. A happy pause of discovery while walking off a meal, that double scoop ice cream cone or while meandering from place to place on a night out on the town. A planned excursion that costs you nothing but well-spent time. And maybe a little exercise.

New Port Richey’s interactive walking art exhibit, “Tides of Time”, which celebrates the city’s recent centennial in October 2024, offers all that and more, as it opens to the public on Friday, June 6, 2025.

The exhibit, which has been well over a year in the making, features miniature bronze sculptures designed and poured by St. Petersburg artist Gillian Harper that have been fastened on 11 historical buildings in the heart of downtown New Port Richey.

Art for All – New Walking Tour to Highlight Architecture and History of Downtown NPR

The public art project, sponsored by the New Port Richey Main Street Design Committee and the City of NPR, is an $85,000 investment in local culture financed by private donors and a $27,500 cultural grant from the city.

In a time when state and federal funding for the arts is being slashed across the board, this is a very big deal, so kudos to all who made this happen.

Taking in a street view and the Tides of Time walking art exhibit at the Richey Suncoast Theatre on Grand Boulevard in downtown New Port Richey.
Photo | Michele Miller (June 5, 2025)

Organizers were inspired by other cultural projects such as those listed on Atlas Obscura, a travel website that features “hidden treasures”, local oddities, and public exhibits that become a drawing point for locals and visitors alike, according to Beth Fregger, co-chair of the design committee.

The Tides of Time sculptures offer a key into the history of the landmark on which they are fastened, as well as the city’s evolution over years.

An accompanying QR Code that, when accessed by a mobile device, takes visitors on a narrated historical video tour of the site and some of the surrounding area. Videos, which can also be accessed at nprmainstreet.org/tot-home, include lots of history and photos, some provided courtesy the West Pasco Historical Society and the historical website, fivay.org, which was created by the late Jeff Miller, a former math teacher at Gulf High School who had an avid interest in discovering and sharing local history.

The exhibit is one with legs, with the possibility to inspire, educate, and reach well into the community for all who partake on their own terms – area students, day-trippers, art scavenger hunters, and local excursioners.

This sculpture is fastened on the entrance gates of Sims Park in downtown New Port Richey.

Photos by Michele Miller

A Thursday morning sneak peek – hours before the official ribbon cutting – was in the cards for me and the old man after I realized I messed up on the scheduled time, and we were on our own.

Our private tour started at nine a.m., at the entrance to Sims Park, before we moseyed over to the historical Hacienda Hotel and Richey Suncoast Theatre, famous landmarks that mark the heydays of the 1920s Art Deco era that New Port Richey has become known for.

Sketch of the proposed bronze sculpture to represent the Thomas Meighan Theatre/Richey Suncoast Theatre in downtown New Port Richey.
PHOTO| MICHELE MILLER

From there, we saw them all – well, almost.

I’ll not rehash the historical aspects we took in or how I think the art relates to the history of the building – that’s for you to discover, contemplate, and learn about on your own – so no “spoiler alert” needed.

We did get in plenty of steps and varied vantages of the downtown street scenes as we took in the local history laid out for us –

The Pasco Building (current home to Ela!, Pint & Barrel Saloon, The White Heron Tea & Gifts, Julep Hat Designs, and Pink Brick Boutique). The First Bank of New Port Richey (Current home to McPherson and Thomas, PA), New Port Richey Land Company (Current home of Rosie’s Tavern), The Public Works Administration Triplex (Current home to The Florida Room, Dang Good on Made, and Ordinance One/The Daily Vibe Coffee Co.) The Chasco Inn (Current home to Gone Juicing Cafe, Herschel’s Scratch Kitchen, and Our Little Sanctuary). The Morey Bowman Building (current home to Gulf Shore Décor, Downtown Hair Lounge, Bruce Brother’s Beanery, Mullins Music, and Hudson Art & Décor).

And we stopped by the Burnett Arcade (Current home to Maharajh Acupuncture & Herb Shoppe and Antique Center on Main Street), where we discovered a new temporary sign on the building that is just under new ownership as Nick’s Point. There are some great plans in store for the place that is currently under renovation – new paint, new tile flooring, a refurbished fountain, and maybe a new restaurant, according to a local shopkeeper we bumped into on our tour.

Another layer of history to add to the ever-evolving story of the City of New Port Richey.

The Arcade – now Nick’s Point – is under new ownership and renovations and is one of the buildings featured in New Port Richey’s Tides of Time public art exhibit. Photo Michele Miller (June 5, 2025)

For information on Tides of Time, visit www.nprmainstreet.org/tot-home
For information on New Port Richey Main Street visit, www.nprmainstreet.org.