Bathhouse Blog

August 26, 2010

The article below appeared in Xtra (Straight swingers' club set to open in Club Toronto space ) written by Cate Simpson

The home of the old Club Toronto, a 122-year-old historical building and an important community landmark as the site of the 2000 Pussy Palace bathhouse raids, will soon reopen as a swingers’ club.

This fall, the building will launch as the Oasis Aqualounge, catering to "sexually adventurous" straight couples and single women.

New owner Toni Johnson took over after Club Toronto closed its doors this past April. The new space, she says, will be "a day and night club, almost like a resort, where you can have a drink and a bite and lounge by the poolside, socialize and dance." One of the venue's most attractive draws is the outdoor pool, which Johnson plans to make a key feature of the new club.

"I'm really excited to be in this neighborhood," Johnson says, although she admits the building itself was the bigger draw.

"The establishment is magnificent. It's one of so few historical places remaining, to see it with the baseboards and trim and stained glass," she says. "One of the defining things for me was that it has a pool and private courtyard. You just can't get that kind of thing downtown."

Proprietor Toni Johnson Poses In The Outdoor Pool
Photo By Mark O’Neill

For Johnson, an entrepreneur whose background is predominantly in the software business, the Oasis Aqualounge is a bit of a departure. "When I decided I wanted to invest in something, this was by no means my first thought," she says.

"It occurred to me that niche businesses do better since competition isn't as fierce, and a few years ago I did a lot of research counting heads and speaking to people about what they liked and what they didn't. And I decided this seems to be the business to be in."

Few changes are being made to Club Toronto's existing fixtures.

"It's more of a fixer-upper than any real changes," says Johnson. "Floors, walls, electrical, new furniture. Outside where the pool is, what was originally a laundry room we decided to convert into a cabana bar that will serve people in the pool."

Johnson hopes the venue will do better business as a swingers' club than as another bathhouse, of which there are already several in the area. Straight couples, she says, have far fewer options in the area.

"Wicked [on Queen West] would be one of the closest, I would say, the difference being that it's only open nights. So we really want to cater to day crowds because there are lots of people who work nights, or they're tired."

Club Toronto was open 24/7, but initially Oasis Aqualounge will be open only from late morning, Thursdays through Sundays. "Assuming that goes well, we'll increase our days," says Johnson. Eventually, she hopes to make the new club a 24-hour destination again.

August 23, 2010

The article below appeared in San Francisco Examiner (There's life in the old dog ) written by John Upton

A long-shuttered Tenderloin bathhouse is reopening more than two decades later, but this time it will cater to an entirely new clientele.

A doggy day care center with space for up to 60 canines is scheduled to open early next year at 130 Turk St., which is on a rundown corridor between Taylor and Jones streets.

The facility, which could aid city-led efforts to rejuvenate the rough-and-tumble area, will provide only daytime accommodations for dogs, proprietor David Nale said.

Customers could include Tenderloin residents and workers who park in surrounding garages who will pay up to $40 a day for the service, according to Nale.

The charming three-story building has been vacant since The City cracked down on gay bathhouses amid the 1980s AIDS epidemic.

The ground floor, which has cavernous 16-foot ceilings and 128 feet of depth, will be divided into four dog playgrounds.

The upper two stories might be overhauled and converted into living units.

The new business will be called Bulldog Baths in honor of the abandoned bathhouse, which was renamed after opening in the 1930s as Club Turk Baths, according to Nale.

Photo courtesy of Metrostudy

"It was one of the very first gay bathhouses in San Francisco — and one of the last," said Nale, who bought the building in 2006.

"I've been thinking and thinking, 'What could be done on that first floor?'" the dog lover said. "The previous owner had mostly gutted it and that gives us a great space for dogs, so we'll just be separating it with chain-link fencing."

On Sept. 2, the Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on the proposal and Nale hopes to open for business early next year.

The City is working to replace sex- and alcohol-focused businesses, vacant buildings and drug dealers in the economically ailing area with neighborhood-serving commercial ventures.

A pornographic cinema at 80 Turk St. is set to be replaced by a family-focused theater space where circus, ventriloquism, pantomime and similarly retro-themed performances are planned.

A glass-facade mall is planned to sprawl over three lots opposite Turk Street's nearby junction with Market Street, where vacant storefronts and violent crimes dominate a city block from Fifth to Sixth streets.

August 11, 2010

It is not uncommon for adult performers to make extra money by making personal appearances. Whether it be at a bar event or a coffeehouse, these performers travel the world to meet their fans. So it should come as no surprise that these performers also make appearances in Bathhouses around the world. What better place to meet their fans.

Sam Swift and Jordano Santoro are two of the top gay performers in their profession. So it was quite a coup for Spa Excess, a bathhouse in Toronto, to book both of them for a LIVE performance in front of a live audience. Along with meeting Martin Lebeau for the first time, these three gave a performance that netted a standing ovation from the crowd. You have to see it for yourself!

To see more of this segment click here.

July 26, 2010

Part of a Winnipeg bathhouse has reopened following a deadly arson that killed two men last fall.

The main floor and basement of Aquarius Men's Bath are open but the second floor, where the fatal fire was set, remains closed to patrons as it undergoes renovations, the bathhouse's website states.

Owner Somchai Pengpharsuks confirmed the reopening. He said he would prefer to do an interview with a reporter when the second floor reopens to customers in a couple of months.

The Oct. 11 blaze at Aquarius Men's Bath located at 457 Notre Dame Ave., killed patrons Steven Yablonski, 23, of Winnipeg and Robert Clark, 62, of Esterhazy, Sask.

Their bodies were found in separate second-floor rooms.

Justin James Rosdobutko, 26, is charged with two counts of manslaughter.

The blaze was set in a private room. The two-storey facility had several private rooms with beds where people could engage in sexual activity in a safe place, Aquarius patrons said previously.

Aquarius Men's Bath

Yablonski was born in Gimli but spent much of his childhood in smaller Interlake communities, including nearby Fraserwood. He attended high school in Gimli before moving to Winnipeg a couple of years before he was killed.

Working as a cook at a downtown pizza restaurant, Yablonski enjoyed entertaining at Gio's Club and Bar, where he was a drag queen performer. His stage name, Kerri O'Kee, was a play on the word karaoke.

A brief obituary published the month of the fatal fire said Clark - whose nickname was Quick - was a motorcycle enthusiast.

"He will be sadly missed by his many friends, brothers and sisters but more so fondly remembered for his wit, humour and his unique way of spinning a story or joke, and his special way in which he greeted each and every friend along life's highway," the obituary stated.

July 22, 2010

The article below appeared in Southern Star (Gay Sauna Staffer Bashed ) written by Andie Noonan

The gay community has been warned to stay alert after a staff member from Collingwood gay sauna Wet on Wellington was bashed in a vicious robbery.

Wet on Wellington manager Shane Gardner told Southern Star the staff member, who wishes to remain anonymous, left the premises on Sunday, July 4 at around 9.30pm and was walking along Peel St, towards Smith St, when he was set upon by at least three men wielding baseball bats.

"My message would be anyone in the area at night to be vigilant and alert after dark and stay in well-lit areas," Gardner said.

He said the staff member heard footsteps behind him before the attack and remembers the pack of attackers using the word 'faggot' during the assault.

The staff member was hit across the head with a baseball bat, then continually struck and eventually robbed.

A head wound required 11 stitches, and the staff member is also undergoing counselling following the vicious attack.

Wet on Wellington

Gardner said his customers did not usually experience trouble when entering or exiting the premises.

He said a similar attack occurred about a year ago when three teenagers hid in a nearby alley before attacking a Wet on Wellington sauna-goer as he exited the building.

Anti-Violence Project Victoria spokesman Greg Adkins said it was critical for someone to call the police should they feel intimidated or are attacked.

"If you’re feeling unsafe it's important to trust your inner warnings, observe those feelings and the best thing you can do is call police," he said.

"Then, when you are safe, contact the Anti-Violence Project so we can get a greater understanding into the work that needs to be done for the gay and lesbian community to ensure their safety."

A spokesman for Victoria Police's media unit told Southern Star the Melbourne Armed Robbery Taskforce was investigating the attack and were confident of an arrest.

July 19, 2010

Cast of Slap & Tickle

As mentioned in an earlier post (Bathhouse Play Coming to Provincetown), the play Slap & Tickle is playing at Provincetown Theater July 6 through August 14 Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00pm. The Cape Cod Times has a review written by Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll. This is her review below.

A bathhouse, long a fixture of gay men's culture, is the setting for David Parr's "Slap&Tickle," a setting that provides an opportunity to meet many men — and hear their stories — in a short time.

Men arrive, they leave. They meet, they part. They connect, they reject. They love each other, they hurt each other.

And, very often, they make us laugh.

In this pre-off-Broadway show trying out at Province­town Theater — with producers connected to this year's Tony Award sensation "La Cage Aux Folles" — six actors play 20 recurring characters. Usually, they wear only towels (or, very briefly, nothing at all) but a well-placed extra towel, baseball cap or string of pearls added to changes in accent and demeanor transform them into a collection of men with widely varying pasts and presents.

Todd Flaherty (left) J. Stephen Brantley (right)

All six actors — J. Stephen Brantley, Todd Flaherty, Joe MacDougall, Christopher R. MacDow, Joseph Mahan and Aaron Tone — excel as an ensemble but also get individual moments to shine comically and dramatically.

While there are some poig­nant longer tales — one told by Mahan about his "uncle Phil" and a bathroom rape acted chillingly by Flaherty and MacDougall stand out — most of the stories are told in one-liners and short conversations with each other or the audience. Key lines often are repeated in Parr's script, doubling back to convey different meaning at different times as the play unfolds.

The lines are often delivered rapid-fire, almost on top of each other. Director David Drake (an Obie Award winner who triumphed with "Our Town" at the theater this spring) has not only helped the cast create distinct, approachable characters but also rehearsed the actors to impeccable timing. The show is 80 minutes without intermission and goes off like clockwork under Drake's guidance.

The stories told are revealing, sympathetic and haunting but don't add up to quite what you'd expect from the press-release description of the "Slap&Tickle" plot. Parr's work is described as "about how drugs, politics, HIV and the Internet have dramatically changed the sexual and emotional landscape for gay men in America over the past 25 years." But there is little reference to time here or any linear history of how life for gay men has evolved. Those topical issues are mentioned briefly, but given somewhat short shrift; the emphasis is more personal.

There is sadness in the stories, but also so many laughs in the one-liners, portrayals and scenarios. Some of the best transformations come from Brantley, who is supremely entertaining as a diva actor/drag queen, the not-too-bright half of a pair who likes to search for sex with other men together, and a lover scorned. A less satisfying part of the script is the running gag of "old jokes."

Sex is the main topic of discussion in "Slap&Tickle," but Parr has said he wanted to use that emphasis in a deeper look at connection and isolation. Many audience members will undoubtedly recognize themselves or someone they know in the situations portrayed and perhaps take away a somewhat different perspective on gay mens' lives in recent times.

OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

July 10, 2010

Every bathhouse tries to get an edge on the competition. Whatever they can do to stand out from the rest, they give it their very best shot. Steamworks needs no introduction, as they are synonymous with gay men as one of the most well-known chain of Bathhouse in North America. Curtis Jensen (left) is the Director of Marketing for Steamworks. He takes TONS of Bathhouse pictures to promote Steamworks everywhere. He has graciously uploaded his pictures on his own Flickr account for all to see. So if you are looking for some of the best Bathhouse Pictures, click to Curtis’s Picture Page. You won’t be disappointed!

July 5, 2010

The Bathhouse raids of 1981 had held the dubious distinction of being the largest mass arrest in Toronto’s history. 160 cops arrested 286 men in a well-planned raid on four Toronto bathhouses. 20 more were arrested as keepers of a bawdy house. One night later, thousands gather to protest, and the Pride Parade of Toronto was born.

Now 30 years later that record has been shattered. More than 900 people were arrested in Toronto during G20 related protests.

Alas, records and meant to be broken.

June 2, 2010

CCSP Presents Guys Like Us

The AIDS Community Action Program (ACAP) in Toronto is combining prevention education and art for the benefit of the Spanish-speaking immigrants in the gay community.

Guys Like Us is a fotonovela aimed at promoting safer sex and healthy relationships among men who have sex with men. The goal of the project is to help Spanish-speaking immigrants gain their footing and learn about the dynamics of the Toronto gay scene while staying safe in the process.

Homophobia is also an issue for many, leading some married men to have relationships on the down-low – the so-called “non gay-identified” men who have sex with men. And then return to their wives.

It is really an interesting fotonovela, which has shot several scenes in a Toronto Bathhouse. Click any of the images to download your copy to see for yourself!

CCSP Presents

Guys Like Us

May 28th, 2010

I was just listening to my local country music station, and I couldn’t believe that this was one of their top news stories (on a country station no less!)

But it is a Crime Stoppers posting!

Toronto Police are looking to the public for help in identifying a man found unconscious this week in Toronto Sauna. The man was discovered at the Oak Leaf Steam Bath at 216 Bathurst Street on Tuesday afternoon. He is described as white, 6 feet tall’, between 160-170 lbs., around 45-50 years of age, with salt/pepper hair, a beard and few or no teeth. He has a Chinese symbol tattooed on his right forearm, meaning doctor or medicine. He also has an old tracheotomy scar at the base of his throat and a circular scar on his lower-left abdomen. Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

Oak Leaf Steam Bath