Preview
Creation Date
7-25-2010
Building Name
Surfside Dance Hall
Description
Surfside Dance Hall Bathhouse Marker, Vilano Beach FL
This is located on the coastal Highway SR A1A in St Augustine, Fl.
The text on the marker reads as :
" Here from the early 1900s stood Surfside “Casino.” Casinos did not offer gambling - they were entertainment centers. Surfside was built as part of the Capo family resort destination of 165 acres. The yacht Pauline II ferried visitors from St. Augustine up the North River to Capo's Landing at the west end of Surfside Avenue where they could stay at Capo's Hotel and have a five course meal at a 120-seat restaurant for 25 cents. A horse drawn trolley brought visitors to Capo's Beach where the casino offered an upstairs dance hall, a downstairs bathhouse, and a venue for horse races, organized sports and picnic events. A bathing beauty might have her photo taken in front of a biplane on the beach. The North Shores Improvement Association began meeting here in 1939 to improve the quality of life on this barrier island. During and after World War II, Surfside was popular with military personnel where local bands and jukebox music were enjoyed. The building remained a favorite place for young people to have parties through the 1960s. In the 1970s the aging building was torn down and the site converted to a county oceanfront park."
Sponsored by THE ST. JOHNS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
Latitude, Longitude
29.92385000, -81.29450000
Recommended Citation
Taylor, George Lansing Jr., "Surfside Dance Hall Bathhouse Marker, Vilano Beach, FL" (2010). George Lansing Taylor Collection Main Gallery. 4540.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/4540
