'The younger generation's main fear is that it's some dark, seedy place,' said T.J. Those that remained were stigmatized, and now many younger gays see them as anachronisms. Bette Midler even launched her career from the stage of the Continental.Īmid the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, bathhouses were vilified for enabling promiscuity and helping spread the disease, and many either closed voluntarily or by legal pressure. In-house entertainment was common, from DJs to live performers. Clubs like New York City's Continental bathhouse and Los Angeles' 8709 Club saw a steady stream of patrons.Įach venue was operated like a speakeasy: a nondescript building often located in the urban fringe. Privately run, gay-owned bathhouses proliferated in the 1970s, offering a haven for gay and bisexual men to meet. Chicago and Manhattan each had about 20 public bathhouses.īut the need for public places to wash up declined and by the 1950s and '60s, bathhouses largely had become rendezvous spots for gays, prompting occasional raids because sodomy was still criminalized. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, American bathhouses were built in many cities to maintain public hygiene among poor and immigrant communities.
