Capo's Bathhouse

Capo's Bathhouse

Historical St. Augustine Bathhouse

Round House

1870

1914

The Capo Bathhouse was built by Philip V. Capo in the 1870s and was one of two bathhouses in St. Augustine. The unique octagonal wooden building had a stone foundation and was located across the street from the present-day Hilton near the end of Treasury Street, out over the water. The building offered both ocean and sulfur baths as a place for the public to enjoy the ocean without going to the beach. Men, women, and children were allowed to swim at different times or on different high tides. Capo’s Bathhouse was also used as a launch point from downtown St. Augustine to North Beach via Capo’s Landing.

In 1901, Capo passed away and the bathhouse was subsuquently purchased by A.W. Pacetti. The bathhouse was one of the buildings burned down in catastrophic April 1914 fire.

Capo's Bathhouse used to be accessed from Bay Street over the top of the seawall.

This bathhouse was in the Matanzas Bay.

The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Map (1895):Reynolds, Charles B. The Standard Guide: St. Augustine, East Coast, Indian River and Lake Worth. Published by the author, 1895.

Photograph 1 (1880s): Harvey, Karen. St. Augustine and St. Johns County: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 1980.

Photograph 2 (c.1900): Browning, Vivian C., Sallie L. O’Hara, John T. Pilechi, and Vilano Beach Main Street. Images of America: Vilano and the North Beaches. Acadia Publishing, 2015.

Photograph 3 (1914): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Gilded Age. Acadia Publishing, 2008.

Photograph 4 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Where Capo's Bathhouse Was." October 31, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Gilded Age. Acadia Publishing, 2008.

Browning, Vivian C., Sallie L. O’Hara, John T. Pilechi, and Vilano Beach Main Street. Images of America: Vilano and the North Beaches. Acadia Publishing, 2015.

Gardner, Sheldon. “Santa Maria Part of History of Businesses on the Water: Capo Bath House, Other Businesses Were Once Over the Matanzas River.” The St. Augustine Record, August 23, 2020. https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/2020/08/23/santa-maria-and-capo-bath-house-were-among-business-over-water/3356156001/.

Flagler College’s Rare Books, Floridiana & Institutional Repository are neither the original nor current copyright owner for the photographs. Please contact the publisher or source cited for each photograph to obtain a copy and/or permission to reproduce these items.

The following St. Augustine Fiction books feature this building as a location:

Horace Chase
A Jolly Fellowship

This record was last updated on December 17, 2025.