New national bathhouse survey.

[meetme]

Where do you live and is there a bathhouse you still visit?  The baths are still so much a part of our gay fantasy. They close down and don’t reopen.  Please if you have one you attend in your area, let us know what you think of it and when you go.  We should support this part of our social world.

[topblkmale]

What nation? Who is ‘us’? What is the ‘fantasy’ if they close down?

Sincerely,
A Concerned survey taker.

 

[meetme]

They are written about so often in stories on this site, that’s what I mean by fantasy, as they are talked about in fiction.  They are locations used in gay porn films .  “Us” is gay men. You live in New York, the only bathhouse left here is the East Side Club.  In the years I’ve lived in Manhattan, the West Side Club, The Ansonia, The St Marks Baths, The Wall Street Sauna, Man’s Country and the Everhard Baths have all closed.  As these places shut down I think an open conversation about them on a gay site is valid. The Club Bath chain was all across America once upon a time. What’s left of that chain?  As a part of the gay community, they should have more acknowledgement.

 

[KylerIsTrash]

It is a shame local politics prevent new licenses for bathhouses in most places in the US. Existing licenses have to be handed down from owner to owner. If there’s not a buyer when the establishment closes then it’s lost forever. I think a lot of this happened during the pandemic.
Does anyone know if there are cities where new bathhouses can open? I know they come with challenges for the city but they are an integral part of gay culture. After all, we are a community founded on sex. It is the single common factor that unites all of us. 

[meetme]

Steamworks is the only recent group that I’m aware of. The one in Chicago is heaven. There is, I believe, one in To4onto and one in Berkeley.  When a bathhouse owner ages he has no family to inherit the business. This happened to Man’s Country in Chicago, it went more and more into disrepair and is now demolished.  There is no legacy fir these places and unless we work to make new ones viable, they will just vanish.

[BathhouseCumdumpDC]

I live in the Washington, DC area and frequent Crew Club one or twice a month on a weekend night. I would not want to live in an area that did not have a gay bathhouse. 

[meetme]

59 minutes ago, BathhouseCumdumpDC said:

I live in the Washington, DC area and frequent Crew Club one or twice a month on a weekend night. I would not want to live in an area that did not have a gay bathhouse. 

Is Crew Club the only bathhouse in DC. Did they also have a Megaplex or some other choice?

[BathhouseCumdumpDC]

I

3 minutes ago, meetme said:

Is Crew Club the only bathhouse in DC. Did they also have a Megaplex or some other choice?

There is a place called Glorious (aka 2120), but it's not technically a bathhouse. It's a sex club with a big open space. It's in a rough neighborhood, not metro accessible, and doesn't get many customers these days. 

[topblkmale]

1 hour ago, meetme said:

Is Crew Club the only bathhouse in DC. Did they also have a Megaplex or some other choice?

 

8 hours ago, meetme said:

They are written about so often in stories on this site, that’s what I mean by fantasy, as they are talked about in fiction.  They are locations used in gay porn films .  “Us” is gay men. You live in New York, the only bathhouse left here is the East Side Club.  In the years I’ve lived in Manhattan, the West Side Club, The Ansonia, The St Marks Baths, The Wall Street Sauna, Man’s Country and the Everhard Baths have all closed.  As these places shut down I think an open conversation about them on a gay site is valid. The Club Bath chain was all across America once upon a time. What’s left of that chain?  As a part of the gay community, they should have more acknowledgement.

 

 

DC had a Club Baths chain bathhouse. It was pretty small but action packed and in a good location.

DC also had a bathhouse-like place called The Men's Party.

 

[sub4oralcum]

I go to Club Columbus (Ohio) 2-3 times a year. Great place to relax and get a lot of cock in my mouth and more than a few loads.

[50latinos]

In Fort Lauderdale. We have:

1. Club Fort Lauderdale with modern and very impressive facilities
2. ClubHouse II, an older facility with older patrons open  in the same place for the last 48 years, can be fun.
3. Wilton Social Club, the newest bathhouse. Opened. just last year, I haven't been there yet

and

4. The infamous and always fun 321 Slammer which is not exactly a bathhouse but a gay sexorama extravaganza open 5 days a week.

No complains here.

[Cutedelicategay]

Bathhouses were a need for the community to get together when the community was marginalized. That's not the case any more. The bisexual community is worst affected by such closures as they normally have opposite sex partners at home. Other than that new generation has a lot more options than bathhouses. Bathhouse generally promote body shaming and they are very expensive nowadays. A lot of illegal activities go on in the dark corners of these places. Besides commercial licenses for such places are opposed by the community. While I enjoy a visit or two to the bathhouse in Toronto which has 2 24/7 bathhouses sex is always a hit or miss. People tend to like ABS where only cock and ass are seen and rejection and body shaming are avoided. Bathhouses and other exclusive sex positive venues are indeed a thing of the past and I won't be surprised if these go out of business. 

Edited February 19 by Cutedelicategay

[NWUSHorny]

Portland still has 2 bathhouses, but neither of the has, nor have they ever had the kind of sexual hookup culture at the bathhouses, that other cities seem to have in the 17 years I've lived here. They have leaned heavily into both fetish themes and the idea that they are more a place to hang out with other gay and bi men than they are a place to find a quick fuck. Hawks even more so than Steam.

[topblkmale]

On 2/19/2024 at 11:41 AM, Cutedelicategay said:

Bathhouses were a need for the community to get together when the community was marginalized. That's not the case any more. The bisexual community is worst affected by such closures as they normally have opposite sex partners at home. Other than that new generation has a lot more options than bathhouses. Bathhouse generally promote body shaming and they are very expensive nowadays. A lot of illegal activities go on in the dark corners of these places. Besides commercial licenses for such places are opposed by the community. While I enjoy a visit or two to the bathhouse in Toronto which has 2 24/7 bathhouses sex is always a hit or miss. People tend to like ABS where only cock and ass are seen and rejection and body shaming are avoided. Bathhouses and other exclusive sex positive venues are indeed a thing of the past and I won't be surprised if these go out of business. 

 

As old generation 1.0 I have not encountered body shaming at any bathhouse I've ever visited. Having said that, new generation should probably avoid gyms and beaches as those places could also be hotbeds of body shaming.

 

[FTLBBversbttm]

Los Angeles, a while back, had several bathhouses.  Late last year, the gigantic MidTowne Spa in downtown closed.  The area around it had gotten to hip, so they were looking to tear it down and put something else there.  North Nollywood Spa, the San Fernando Valley and Melrose Spa in Hollywood are the last remaining bathhouses.  That said, we too have a Slammer Club and Is also a lot of fun!  The same owner just opened a new sex club in Palm Springs seconds away fro the Tool Shed.  Great area with plenty of parking.