Vilano Beach, Florida

Just to the northwest of St. Augustine in St. John's County, separated from the city by a shiny new high rise bridge, is Vilano Beach, a community that dates back to the 1920s. Vilano Beach was a local playground with a casino, restaurant and beaches. But the gambling mecca washed away in storms in the 1930s and Vilano Beach and its small subdivisions to the north, Surfside and North Beach, became quiet beach communities of slow growth. Today this area has become a suburb of both St. Augustine and Jacksonville.