Gay baths in san francisco
Castro Baths
San Francisco and the broader Bay Area contain one of the highest concentrations of LGBTQIA+ folks in the world. We have explicit legislation creating a favorable business environment (Supervisor Mandelman, bless 🙏). If there was ever a time to revive our city’s once burgeoning bathhouse culture–it’s now.
Castro Baths is hustling to unlock our doors in moment for Pride and you’re invited!
Our Vision
Last summer, we visited bathhouses around the world: Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Istanbul, New York, Los Angeles, London, and more. (If Lorraine at the IRS is reading this - this was an absolutelynecessary business expense!)
Repeatedly, we were asked: “I’m going to San Francisco next month - which bathhouses should I visit?” Sheepishly, a tad embarrassed - we explained that there isn’t really a gay bathhouse scene in San Francisco. “Your leading bet is probably in Berkeley.”
While there are a handful of local traditional bathhouses we frequent (shoutout to the newest addition: Alchemy Springs) - gay bathhouse culture in San Francisco never recovered after the AIDS cr
Very brief reflections prompted by the appearance on Pinterest of a s poster advertising the Ritch St. Health Club in San Francisco, the first gay baths (in the new sense) in San Francisco. A digital artwork by Sylvan Rogers, based on this poster (but minus the details about hours, charges, facilities, buddy nights, etc.):
The Ritch St. eventually became a Club Baths, and then closed
Modern gay baths are clean and well-appointed, with saunas, steamrooms, gym equipment, social gathering spaces, and often entertainment, as well as lockers, private rooms, public orgy rooms, and sometimes more specialized sexual facilities. In later times they also offered copious supplies of condoms and lube, protected sex counseling, and HIV testing.
I had a lengthy and satisfying history at such baths, in Novel York City, Washington DC, Brighton (in Sussex), Columbus OH, and East Palo Alto and San Jose CA. There&#;s a Page on this blog with links to my postings (mostly on AZBlogX and needing transfer to this blog) about my experiences at the gay baths.
The Watergarden bathhouse in San Jose was a
Why San Francisco Needs a Gay Bathhouse
Bathhouses, a staple in gay communities worldwide, have been glaringly absent from San Francisco since
I made a fresh friend recently. He just moved here from Fresh York. Having tried to visit the Eagle but finding it closed, he texted me one evening. “Does SF close down at like, 11pm? I’m used to NYC where we don’t even verb going out until then.”
Oh honey. “We’re not love you East Coasters lol. Though I wish we were sometimes. The dearth of late-nite options here is staggering.”
“Wtf? This is a city, isn’t it?”
I’m tired of confronting the fact that, for being a high-profile gay destination, San Francisco is surprisingly prudish.
It’s understandable that my friend was let down by SF’s inherent sleepiness. If only there were a twenty-four-hour destination for him and other gay men to meet and make friends. A bathhouse, also known as a sauna, traditionally steps in for our kind at this point. At one time, San Franciso hosted over sixty gay bathhouses. But now the municipality is bath-less, and has been since , so my buddy walked noun and p
Pride parades are a major feature of LGBTQ+ celebrations across the world and they began as politically motivated protest marches demanding action on a host of issues like social and religious prejudice, civil rights, homophobia and discrimination. San Francisco, with its Bohemian cultural fabric, emerged as an early epicentre of the gay movement in the USA.
On 27 June , 20 to 30 people took part in a Gay Liberation March, followed by a gathering at the Golden Gate Park the following day, which was promptly raided and dispersed by the police who took seven people into custody. Notwithstanding, in the decade of the 70s the movement gathered pace – the celebration of the June events gradually grew into the San Francisco Gay Pride.
The parade has been held every year since (only interrupted by the COVID pandemic), taking place during the last weekend of June to honour the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Each year has a particular theme, which is reflected in publicity material, merchandise and memorabilia related to the event.
Two interesting pieces related to the San Franc