Beginning in 1916 with Eagle Film City, this site was associated with the production of moving picture films. In 1921, Richard Norman purchased it and produced race films that positively portrayed African Americans in non-caricatured roles and challenged the racism of the era, alongside work similar to that of his contemporaries Oscar Micheaux and William Foster. Its contribution to film history is embodied in this complex of buildings, a rare example of a silent film studio that includes all elements of film production on a single site.