In its heyday, bathhouses were as common in major cities as discos. It was the 1970s and the sexual liberation movement was at its zenith. Gay men, who were still socially ostracized, had fewer options for hooking up. Sure, cruising parks and truck stops offered a modicum of relief, but were risky and often accompanied by arrest and physical beatings. But for places like The Continental in New York City and the 8709 Club in Los Angeles, it was a golden era.
Times, however, have changed. According to a report on ABCNews.com, where once they were some 200 bathhouses dotted across the country, the number has dropped precipitously to around 70. And while patrons used to be considerably younger, the demographic has skewed older as young people, living in a post-AIDS epidemic world, where the stigma attached to being gay has lessened remarkably, they are simply too many options from online hookup sites, to bars to even the produce section at the local supermarket.
“The younger generation’s main fear is that it’s some dark, seedy place,” said T.J. Nibbio, the executive director of the North American Bathhouse Association. NABA formed two years ago for bathhouse owners to pool best practices for marketing and operations. To attract younger patrons, some bathhouses offer steep discounts, cutting admission by as much as 60 percent. At the three-story Midtowne Spa in downtown Los Angeles, 18- to 20-year-olds get in for $5 any time. On Tuesdays, Los Angeles’ Melrose Spa lets those 18 to 25 in for free.
Bathhouses, as ABC correctly notes, have a long history. During Roman times, public bathhouses were a necessity, given the lack of indoor plumbing, to maintain public hygiene. The trend continued well into the 20th century but tapered off by the 1950s and 60s when gay men appropriated them as meeting places for sex.
But it wasn’t until the 1980s, and the spread of AIDS, when bathhouses confronted the biggest challenges to their existence. Many were shut down as a health precaution. As a result, the industry never returned to its former glory. But some are trying to change that. According to ABC News, “The CEO of Ohio-based Flex Spas, Todd Saporito, has positioned his bathhouse chain as a pillar of the gay community. Saporito uses the chain’s Cleveland-based flagship spa, whose 50,000 square feet include luxury hotel rooms and a nightclub, to run the city’s annual Pride parade and this year’s Gay Games, an international LGBT athletic competition. Flex Spas also has sponsored the White Party, an annual electronic music festival in Palm Springs, and partnered with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, part of an effort to frame the bathhouse as an opportunity for preventing risky behavior.”
Whether or not bathhouses can survive remains to be seen. But changing tastes and generational attitudes are sure to play as large a part in their survival as they ever have.
