Bath Houses?

[+ Charlie]

I, too, saw Miss Midler perform at the Continental Baths in the Ansonia Hotel, though of course that was not why I was there.

[CowboyUp]

I occasionally go to Club Houston and Club Dallas. They are the two cleanest, best managed and maintained bath houses in Texas. There are others in Dallas and Houston, as well as Austin and San Antonio, but they are more dilapidated and very "hit or miss" with regards to quality of the clientele. Club Houston is by far the newest and best such facility we have in the Lone Star State....also has a very nice, clean pool, superior gym and almost always some hot guys (of mixed ages) strolling the dark hallways and showers/wet area.

[Steven_Draker]

Adriano, if you find yourself in Istanbul don't miss to visit an authentic Turkish bath.

 

http://www.turkeytours.info.tr/yonetim/tours-fotolar/cagaloglu%20bath-tarih-2.23.2010.2.03.08.PM.jpg

[CowboyUp]

Adriano, if you find yourself in Istanbul don't miss to visit to an authentic Turkish bath.[/color]

 

Thanks for mentioning these Steven. I've often wondered about these type of mainstream baths in Turkey, Greece, etc...Is there an erotic vibe at all or are these traditional baths very hetero/non-sexual?

[Phil_musc]

Several years ago I was in Budapest and went to 2 bath houses - the Gellert and the Rack. The Gellert definitely had a vibe about it, although things were pretty covert (I didn't do anything there). The Rack, on the other hand, was decidedly gay with things being quite open. It didn't seem as hygienic as I would have liked it to be, although you know it was probably ok. On another trip I accidentally came upon a sex club in (of all places) Vienna. It was only open on Saturday night and I found it totally by accident!. I also gotta tell you, I was impressed! I had never seen anything quite like it in the states - all sorts of activities going on out in the main areas and also some cubicle/closet areas for those who wanted a little privacy. The kinkier videos (the ones that you watch for educational purposes and hell, ya just can't look away - fatal fascination) that they show at the A-House in P-town could have been shot in this club. I've also been to the Drake in Prague - that was interesting also - the set-up was akin to a maze with little rooms and nooks for privacy. Quite a place - I would go back if the opportunity arose. As far as the USA, I found a pretty interesting place in Ft Lauderdale the other year - it had private rooms in addition to open areas for the more exhibitionistic or voyeuristic among the clientele. It was a rowdy time.

 

The scene in Philly - yes, there are two bath houses, and the one will not win any awards for good housekeeping - but I wouldn't go there for the interior decoration unless it walks around. The other one is pretty open and clean but I understand has a limited number of visitors. There must be more people going though than I think - it's in Center City and rents and property taxes are pretty high so there must be somebody who is going to keep it open. As far as the guests go at the other place - it's a mixture of guys from young and twinkish to the old and grizzled - but that's how it's always been. I see fewer guys out that appeal to me - but that just might be a hormonal thing - it takes more to impress me now. When I was younger, I found a lot more people incredibly hot; I'm less likely to be impressed now.Just the way your mind plays tricks on your body ("God, I'm horny; God, he's hot" - lots of decisions made by the little head calling the shots). I've developed a little more authority and control over my little head, I guess. But even so, I really don't believe it's like it was in the good old days.

[Irtwo]

I have trouble picturing someone performing in a bath house. You guys who saw performers like Bette Midler in the bath houses, what was the set up? Was there a separate room with a stage? Were guys sitting around in towels watching her?

[OneFinger]

Many years ago I had many wonderful nights at The Ball Park in Denver. It had a 2 story water fall and, in the basement, the cab of a semi-trailer (complete with sleeper unit).

 

But, since AIDS, bath houses have become less popular and I haven't been to one over 20 years.

[Diverdan]

Yes, there was a stage as I remember, and guys sat around in their towels... Bette and the others didn't always stay on the "stage" but migled with the audience. As I remember, some of the guys wore more than towels, but this is so long ago, I don't remember all the finite details.... maybe some of the other guys who saw her can help me out here to answer your questions.

[jjkrkwood]

The bath houses of Old were entertainment venues. Not so much anymore..... Now you make your OWN entertainment.

[Jaker27]

The bath houses of Old were entertainment venues. Not so much anymore..... Now you make your OWN entertainment.

Yeah, and the drug dealers are doing great business there. Getting myself sober meant giving up the bath houses for me.

[+ Charlie]

I have trouble picturing someone performing in a bath house. You guys who saw performers like Bette Midler in the bath houses, what was the set up? Was there a separate room with a stage? Were guys sitting around in towels watching her?

If I remember correctly, there was a makeshift stage set up in one of the communal areas for a kind of theater-in-the-round, and those in attendance ranged from the fully dressed to those only in skimpy towels. There was a lot of coming-and-going during the performance, as men in towels passed through on their way to other activities. I don't know how people got word that the performance was to take place; I know I was rather taken aback to come upon the scene on my way to the steamroom.

[jjkrkwood]

Yeah, and the drug dealers are doing great business there. Getting myself sober meant giving up the bath houses for me.

 

i dont drink OR do any drugs, and seem to function quite well at the clubs. Bath houses, not so much anymore. i like taking my showers in private.

[JackTwist]

I used to enjoy going to the very popular "Hollywood Spa" bath house back in the 90's and early 2000's. You could always find some hot, clean-cut guys there who also wanted to play safely, especially on the weekends. The last two times I went (not since 2010) the only halfway "cute" guys there were either drunk or tweaking on tina. Maybe I should check it out again since it's been awhile since my last visit. Perhaps things have changed for the better, but I doubt it.

[bigvalboy]

Maybe I should check it out again since it's been awhile since my last visit. Perhaps things have changed for the better, but I doubt it

 

Don't check it out again.... everyone is partying with 'Tina' ......and don't ask me how I know this stuff. LOL

[+ Travis69]

Hollywood Spa was a great place. Really got your exercise cruising all 3 floors. Especially liked the holes in the doors to the rooms. A lot of voyeurs had their eyes glued to the holes of the rooms with the hotter people. The grand staircase was very strange.

[+ Travis69]

One reson I like bathhouses and sex clubs is that you aren't going to a strangers home or having a stranger come to your home. Safer environment. Also if the other person isn't as great in the sack as you hoped you pick up your towel and go on to the next person.....

[+ deej]

I have trouble picturing someone performing in a bath house. You guys who saw performers like Bette Midler in the bath houses, what was the set up? Was there a separate room with a stage? Were guys sitting around in towels watching her?

 

I don't know if it's still there, but Chicago's "Mans Country" bathhouse used to have an attached auditorium space complete with stage dubbed "the music hall". When I left town it was mostly used for strippers, although it was used as the venue for the Grabby Awards the first few years they were live.

 

I'd imagine a lot of the bathhouses from the early days had performance spaces. It was in their interest to get you to stay a while once you were inside, and to make sure you weren't tempted to go elsewhere in the first place.

[bigvalboy]

It was in their interest to get you to stay a while once you were inside, and to make sure you weren't tempted to go elsewhere in the first place

 

At the infamous '8709' in LA, they had a full restuarant that you could order from, plus nice rooms and porn + regular movies as well...I would stay for several days.

[+ Charlie]

I'd imagine a lot of the bathhouses from the early days had performance spaces. It was in their interest to get you to stay a while once you were inside, and to make sure you weren't tempted to go elsewhere in the first place.

 

I'm not sure what you consider the early days. I started going to bathhouses in the 1960s, and I don't remember any "performance spaces" or any entertainment. There was usually some sort of food area (the Everard had the best hamburgers I have ever had anywhere), but the rest of the venue was reserved entirely for either sex or exercise (the swimming pool). Miss Midler was the first performance of any kind that I can remember in any bathhouse I went to, and that was in the mid-70s. Of course, those old bathhouses like the Everard or the St. Marks were built as genuine bathhouses, not gay sex palaces, and they maintained the fiction that they were still for that purpose, until after the Stonewall rebellion.

[Boner]

Miss Midler was the first performance of any kind that I can remember in any bathhouse I went to, and that was in the mid-70s.

 

The Continental Baths, IIRC. Barry Manilow was her pianist.

[+ Charlie]

The Continental Baths, IIRC.

YDRC. The Continental was in the basement of the Ansonia Hotel on W. 73rd.

[uwsman2]

After the Continental ceased doing business, another bathhouse was run in the basement of the Ansonia, just called Ansonia baths. I used to go there occasionally (late 1970s/early 1980s) because I found the heated pool was a great place to make connections. Once, I connected with a guy in the pool and we just played with each other (hands under water) for a hot 20 minutes or so - there was a steamroom and a shower area, and private booths. I also used to go to St. Marks, West Side Sauna, East Side Sauna, and a few trips to the Everard. Had my biggest successes at the East Side, though, for some reason. (After work on weekdays, East Side was occasionally full of Hassidic Jews who traipsed over from the diamond district and "held court" in their rooms.)

[jjkrkwood]

One reson I like bathhouses and sex clubs is that you aren't going to a strangers home or having a stranger come to your home. Safer environment. Also if the other person isn't as great in the sack as you hoped you pick up your towel and go on to the next person.....

 

MY kind of man Travis...... INDUBIDABLY !

[Diverdan]

Man's Country in Chicago still has the performance area and as far as I know still has porn stars on Friday and Saturday nights stripping all the way and mingling in the audience. I haven't been there for several years, so can't vouch for whether or not it is still in the same shape (pun intended) that it once was. This thread has caused me to consider paying it a visit the next time I am in that wonderful city.

[Guest verymarried]

Diver - save your money. I stopped in Mans Country and it was almost empty on a Saturday, kind of depressing, with a couple of dancers who were kind of mechanical. Quite a contract to whatever went in some years ago. My friend told me he saw Paul Lynde there once. By contrast Steamworks was packed and very active. Steamworks has video camers which project to your in-room TV so you can watch glory hole action in other parts of the building. Kind of the ultimate in voyeur.