Bathhouses disappearing 🙁

[nekofox]

Just recently saw a discussion from the Las Vegas area about losing one of the longest-running bathhouses, Hawks.  Along with losing a well-known place like theirs in Vegas, more and more bathhouses have been closing down within the past 10+ years around the US, which appears to be happening at different rates for different reasons.  Some are closing from the usual financial issues (primary cause overall), but usually, there's possibly more to it for such strife.  2020 from COVID as the usual prime suspect, politics of the holier than thou types is another, troubling locations (rough neighborhoods), or even simple health/safety issues are all the usual suspects for them to be closing down.  

Overall, I wanted to see if anyone had one that they went to that closed down, possibly share a mini-story of your favorite one that closed down in your area/constantly visited.

[topblkmale]

NYC lost two bathhouses to Covid. One I suspect would have closed anyway due to neighborhood gentrification. I think that is what happened to Chicago's two Clark Street bathhouses.

 

Along the east coast, the stronghold is Providence, Rhode Island with two bathhouses. Also South Florida which still has three. The other cities along the east coast barely have one remaining open. I'm certain Philadelphia is next to close one of its two remaining bathhouses sadly.

Edited September 28, 2023 by topblkmale
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[Spunkinmyarse]

Does Montreal still have a healthy bathhouse scene? Obviously it’s not USA, but I still view it as kind of East Coast. I’ve escaped to Montreal a couple of times while visiting friends in New York, purely to take advantage of its cruise clubs and saunas, now that NY no longer offers such amenities to its visitors 😩

[ellentonboy]

14 minutes ago, topblkmale said:

NYC lost two bathhouses to Covid. One I suspect would have closed anyway due to neighborhood gentrification. I think that is what happened to Chicago's two Clark Street bathhouses.

 

Along the east coast, the stronghold is Providence, Rhode Island with two bathhouses. Also South Florida which still has three. The other cities along the east coast barely have one remaining open. I'm certain Philadelphia is next to close one of its two remaining bathhouses sadly.

I am originally from Philadelphia.  It was great to have options in which one to go to, it will be sad to see one of them close.  It was always nice to know I had a place to crash after getting off a plane from Florida.  That news makes me sad.

[NWUSHorny]

I keep wondering how long Hawks here in Portland can hang on. They were about to relocate prior the pandemic and the old location was demolished a few months after they closed for it, but because of issues with the city were unable to complete the build out of their new location until more than a year after the other bathhouse Steam reopened. Not that attendance has ever been great at any Portland bathhouse in the time I've lived here, it is visibly way down at both Hawks and Steam compared to prepandemic. Actual sex at Hawks is way down compared to before, and actually up some at Steam, which in my opinion the lack of actual sex has always been a sore point for any sex venue in Portland. Hawks has tried to really lean into more fetish and bi events, which in Portland always seems to lead to more posing and no sex. They also keep adjusting there hours and switching up fetishes for their monthly events, and anytime I have been other than Saturday nights it has been a complete ghost town. I haven't been to any of the explicitly non-fucking fetish events at either bathhouse recently, but in the past Steam drew very large crowds for theirs and Hawks drew almost no crowds for theirs.

[FelchingPisser]

I find it amazing that Indianapolis has held on to two bathhouses.

[partying.hard]

31 minutes ago, ellentonboy said:

I am originally from Philadelphia.  It was great to have options in which one to go to, it will be sad to see one of them close.  It was always nice to know I had a place to crash after getting off a plane from Florida.  That news makes me sad.

Several years ago, I flew to Philly to hook up with a guy I was chatting with online. I think I spent five days there. And one of those days was spent at club Philly.  An amazing time was had by all, and I was had by many!
 

Funny, he moved to Florida in the last year!

[meetme]

1 hour ago, topblkmale said:

NYC lost two bathhouses to Covid. One I suspect would have closed anyway due to neighborhood gentrification. I think that is what happened to Chicago's two Clark Street bathhouses.

 

Along the east coast, the stronghold is Providence, Rhode Island with two bathhouses. Also South Florida which still has three. The other cities along the east coast barely have one remaining open. I'm certain Philadelphia is next to close one of its two remaining bathhouses sadly.

Which do you think will close in Phila?  I’ve always found Sansom too vast to be a good meeting place, so I am almost never 5here, but i$ l8ke to know what you foresee 

[meetme]

1 hour ago, topblkmale said:

NYC lost two bathhouses to Covid. One I suspect would have closed anyway due to neighborhood gentrification. I think that is what happened to Chicago's two Clark Street bathhouses.

 

Along the east coast, the stronghold is Providence, Rhode Island with two bathhouses. Also South Florida which still has three. The other cities along the east coast barely have one remaining open. I'm certain Philadelphia is next to close one of its two remaining bathhouses sadly.

And what was the second one to close in NY? West Side Club was a great loss but don’t know the other.

[gacanasian]

2 hours ago, Spunkinmyarse said:

Does Montreal still have a healthy bathhouse scene? Obviously it’s not USA, but I still view it as kind of East Coast. I’ve escaped to Montreal a couple of times while visiting friends in New York, purely to take advantage of its cruise clubs and saunas, now that NY no longer offers such amenities to its visitors 😩

Yup, Montreal still has GI Joe, Oasis, and Sauna Centre Ville in the village, Bain Colonial in the plateau.  There are also another one each in both the North and South Shores too.  (~20-30 min. drive out of downtown).  We get a lot of American visitors ^__^

[topblkmale]

1 hour ago, meetme said:

Which do you think will close in Phila?  I’ve always found Sansom too vast to be a good meeting place, so I am almost never 5here, but i$ l8ke to know what you foresee 

Sansom Street Gym most likely will be shutdown. Its currently temporarily closed. Don't know why.

[topblkmale]

1 hour ago, meetme said:

And what was the second one to close in NY? West Side Club was a great loss but don’t know the other.

Northern Sauna in Queens closed when the lockdown was announced in March of 2020.

I was there days and the night before it shutdown. I remember it distinctly. The bathhouse was totally empty with everyone fearing Covid.

[VersGuyAnon]

There was a group called Chariots, that had a chain of fantastic saunas across London (UK). Sadly the whole lot have gone. It was a big loss to the sauna scene when the last one in Vauxhall (one of the two main gay areas) closed. There are still a few operating in the city, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. These days sex clubs tend to be more of a thing, which is fine, although these don't have wet facilities (including showers to clean up after!). 

[meetme]

I never got to Northern Sauna, I hope you go to ESC sometimes, it would be a pleasure to meet you.  If one Philly baths is to go, I prefer Club Philly to Sansom.

[Sfmike64]

31 minutes ago, VersGuyAnon said:

There was a group called Chariots, that had a chain of fantastic saunas across London (UK). Sadly the whole lot have gone. It was a big loss to the sauna scene when the last one in Vauxhall (one of the two main gay areas) closed. There are still a few operating in the city, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. These days sex clubs tend to be more of a thing, which is fine, although these don't have wet facilities (including showers to clean up after!). 

That's so ironic. When I lived in London in 1987, the gay saunas wouldn't let you touch anyone else, let alone have sex. It was SUPER weird, but I did meet a pivotal person there who introduced me to his friends (and kept me from moving back to the states since I had a really hard time making friends).