Bathhouses disappearing 🙁

[LiveDaddy]

One bath house near me closed because they could not survive during the covid lock down.   I would go there during lunch from work and sometimes it was busy and other times the parking lot would be empty.   

[Japbtm]

The rise of cumdumps - supply and demand of easy sex. From bath houses to Assup facedown door open fuck and go. Why pay money when anyone can get free ass almost anywhere at anytime and discreetly. Easy access to sex had kill the bath houses. Kind of like retail outlets and Amazon. 
Free access and information to cruise parks and public areas. Makes finding dick and ass way easier now a days. 

[JamesL100]

Out in the country here I have to travel for group scenes and thankfully the gay sauna is usually busy at weekends

[sub4oralcum]

I go to the Club in Columbus, Ohio. LOVE it there. 

[toolman1966]

In the 90's, I visited my 1st bathhouse and loved it.  Sorry to see them closing down around the country but I knew they would follow the path of ABS and Adult theaters.  Wish the government would see the true value of Bath Houses, it's a place for testing, sharing information, vaccines, and safely play with other men away from underage kids.   Over the years, I have been to 12 or more with only 4 of them still in business.  I guess clothing optional resorts will be the next part of our heritage to fade away.  

I asked the question years ago; would we see an all-gay male brothel in Vegas?  Under government testing,,, I say no... no money can be made there... too much free cock and ass.

Imagine a place where bi-curious could suck, top, and bottom without any risk of any STI's with sexy gay guys.  

Help me out, is there gay brothels in Amsterdam?

[Flared]

I don't wanna sound too stupid but exactly do you do in a bath house? Is it a place full with steam that horny guys get laid? And why baths in particular? Arent' there "too many bottoms" and "too few tops" to have a balance?

[NWUSHorny]

On 9/30/2023 at 8:58 AM, topblkmale said:

Could we add inflation to the list? I paid close to $50 bucks to get a locker at Club FLL on a holiday weekend. The younger generation won't pay that when you could get three months of ad-free Grindr for $39.

Grindr did to bathhouses what Netflix did to DVDs.

Which brings me to my point of could bathhouses do a subscription service model to attract new patrons?

I think I paid over $50 to attend CumUnion at Club San Diego. If it had been a great orgy, I would pay it again, however I didn't even see anyone fucking so . . .

[LetsPOZBreed]

My bathhouse initiation was Club New Orleans back in the day.  It was never the same after Katrina, though...the upper two floors withstood a ton of damage, and the year after for Decadence, the a/c wasn't working that high up meaning it was unbearably hot in the big cruisy area.  They eventually did renovate it, but closed for good a few years later.  Pretty sad, really; although, the busiest times were always during the big events in the city (i.e. Mardi Gras, N.O. Pride, and Decadence).

When I lived in Dallas, I much preferred Midtown Spa over Club Dallas.  I understand Midtown has sadly gone as well.  

Here in London, I never went to Chariots prior to its closing (despite literally living on the other side of the Thames from it).  Pleasuredrome is meh...it was a bit so-so the few times I've been inside.  If I had to take my pick, I'd go to Locker Room in Kennington....skews older crowd-wise, but it means those of us there are fully aware of the bathhouse "culture", and it's a bit more laid back than the other cruisy spots.  

[toolman1966]

New Orleans was my 1st bathhouse, a trade show in the SuperDome in '93.  I was the last to depart after the show.  Flew out the next morning at 10 am.  Discovered other venders also in the Club, lost my closeted position.  My 1st sling fuck. But yes, Katina really hear  New Orleans.

[AlwaysOpen]

As has been posted here, Ft Lauderdale FL has the unique benefit of 2  true bathhouses,  The Club which tends to be a younger group, and is appointed more like a higher end day spa, and ClubHouse II with more of a crowd of men over 45; and sleazier/kinkier.  And the there is the sex club 321 (Slammer)  where it is really just a building for cruising and sex. And with a membership it is also a "bottle club" type of thing where you can bring a bottle in and they hold it for the 3 months of your membership, serving you drinks from your bottle.

So, some guesthouses also open their doors during the day for day pass visitors ( I can think of at least 4 that offer this) You can hang by their pool, or , especially at one, hang in someones sling in their guestroom. 

The bathhouses and guesthouses here I think have survived in a large part to the number of bi or married straight(ish) men who want gay sex witthout the risk of being busted in some park or public space; or the risk of being robbed by hooking up at some strangers  address  ( that might not be their real address, just one they send to lure the guy over)  A man here on business can pay a one time entry fee in cash and have 4 or 8 hours inside where there is less risk ,thus less chance of a spouse /partner  ever finding out. I know I have driven past ClubHouse II many times during the 11a - 3p timeframe, and the parking spaces around the place are full. And sure, some are very likely bored retirees, but the one guy who worked their once told me the place stays  busy during the weekdays with salemen and company techs in town to service a customers equipment , or tourists in town with their wife- she is having a spa day at the hotel, and he is getting his sex play in at the tubs. 

As for why so many elsewhere are closing, one issue I have not read in the previous posts. Age or death. A lot of the baths opened in the  1970's , by men who were in their 30's or 40's. Even with the best of genes, that would put many of those men in their 80's or even 90's.  And while there are(were) some owned by straight people, most were owned by gay men, who as they got older and less able to keep up with the business found it difficult to sell ( all those years of cash sales at the door were often barely reported, so the financials when it was time to sell sucked. ) Worse, if the owner died and family had to settle the estate,  it probably was the last thing they wanted to be involved in, so it just was closed and the real estate value grabbed (like how quickly after Chuck Renslow died MansCountry  closed and the property sold to a developer)

[partying.hard]

@AlwaysOpen … reading your last paragraph, I was going to add to that a reference to Chuck and man’s country. And then I saw your last sentence. I have mourned the demise of that facility every week for the last several years. That was without doubt, at least, for me, the best space in the entire world. and I have played on all seven continents. 

[topblkmale]

2 hours ago, partying.hard said:

@AlwaysOpen … reading your last paragraph, I was going to add to that a reference to Chuck and man’s country. And then I saw your last sentence. I have mourned the demise of that facility every week for the last several years. That was without doubt, at least, for me, the best space in the entire world. and I have played on all seven continents. 

I enjoyed the seediness of Man's Country with the those dimly lit hallways, dark room and those specialty rooms.

 

3 hours ago, AlwaysOpen said:

As has been posted here, Ft Lauderdale FL has the unique benefit of 2  true bathhouses,  The Club which tends to be a younger group, and is appointed more like a higher end day spa, and ClubHouse II with more of a crowd of men over 45; and sleazier/kinkier.  And the there is the sex club 321 (Slammer)  where it is really just a building for cruising and sex. And with a membership it is also a "bottle club" type of thing where you can bring a bottle in and they hold it for the 3 months of your membership, serving you drinks from your bottle.

 

Fort Lauderdale is tied with Providence, Rhode Island for the East Coast city with the most bathhouses with two each now that Philadelphia will have less Brotherly Love.

But soon Providence will take the title as the premier bathhouse city - who could have guessed that?

FLL-Clubhouse II is on its last leg. On my last visit the roof was leaking, showers were inoperable, glory holes removed and the jacuzzi had not been cleaned. The dry sauna was also OOO. There were about seven or eight guys stirring about on a prime time weekend night.

Otherwise 321 Slammer was packed.

[topblkmale]

I kind of gay fairy wish there was some kind of online repository/archive (a forum, Reddit or similar to Wikipedia maybe) for bathhouse history.

 

 

[willslc]

On 9/29/2023 at 2:36 PM, JimInWisc said:

Indeed those pesky bugs do show up from time to time for those of us who bareback only and are, um, playful....

I am sure I got HIV at the Swim Club. ☣️

[topblkmale]

10 hours ago, Flared said:

I don't wanna sound too stupid but exactly do you do in a bath house? Is it a place full with steam that horny guys get laid? And why baths in particular? Arent' there "too many bottoms" and "too few tops" to have a balance?

Its the feeling of just DROPPING YOUR TOWEL inside a room or where ever you are inside the bath and start fucking.

Can't do that in an ABS, theater, park, rest room nor Grindr.