Bath House Day

It's bath house day, and we start with some early 20th Century men, probably Russian.

 

Turk

This steamy guy is supposed to be a Turk.

 

Compulsory Baths

These men are getting a compulsory bath before being allowed to stay in a New York City 

hostel for working men without apartments around 1905.

 

Bob Blount

1970s porn star Bob Blount posed in a bath house setting 

for one of his numerous photo shoots.

 

Paris

Here we see two men getting a good scrub in 1900 Paris.

It looks like a pretty high end establishment.

 

English

This is said to be an English neighborhood bath in the 1960s.  Two things that immediately caught my attention were the peeling paint and the guy at right who didn't quite cover everything up.

 

Bear night?

It must have been Bear Night at the Tubs.

 

NYC

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Coney Island

These two men are camping it up a bit at Stauch's Bath House, 

a popular Coney Island spot for gays in the 1940s and 1950s.

 

1980-ish

We close with a 1980-ish photo of two men in a bath house.

 

Bear Night at the Baths

The Bubbles Men Only bath house had a Bear Night with, naturally, a free buffet.

 

Going to the Baths, Part 1 - Some History

We have a two parter today on going to the baths, and part one goes into some history.

It was the Turks who carried the Roman bath concept into modern times,

so I'm starting with this undated photo that I like.

 

France

This is a treatment room at Evian-les-Bains, France, early 20th Century.

 

Everard

Irish immigrant and brewer James Everard established the Everard Baths on New York's west side in 1888.  It was palacial by the standards of the time, and by 1910 it was a known gay cruising site.  It was ever referred to as "Everhard."  Sadly, a tragic 1977 fire killed nine men, and even though the owners rebuilt and reopened, Everard's closed for good at the height of the AIDS crisis.

Below, a photo from the New York Herald in 1905.

 

Berlin, Early 20th C.

This is the Admiralspalast in Berlin, early 20th Century.

It looks more like a gentleman's club than a bath

house, but the towels are the giveaway.

 

Savoy 1951

This was taken at the Savoy Baths in London in 1951.

The place started attracting gays in the 1930s,

but it was still a mixed crowd much of the time.

 

Going to the Baths, Part 2 - The 1970s

The second half of our bath house special features photos thought to be from 

the 1970s,the heyday of the phenomenon before AIDS came crashing in.

We start with what looks like a screen grab from a VHS movie.

 

Atlanta 1976

My source says this was the Club Baths Atlanta in 1976

What's with all the gear hanging on the wall?

It looks like a tack room for leather toys.

 

1979

Rod S. of Chicago sent me this photo of an unknown

bath house shower from 1979.

 

On the sly

I get the feeling this one was taken on the sly.