Gay bathhouse san francisco
POWERHOUSE BAR San Francisco
For events and hours, visit the Powerhouse facebook page at this link
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Dore Footpath Sunday:
Powerhouse Bar
Folsom St
San Francisco, CA
Visit the Powerhouse facebook page at this link
In San Francisco, there are places where you can go for a steam, a sauna, and a cold plunge. And then there are places you can go to possess steamy sex with strangers.
But surprisingly, there’s not a place to do both — well, legally.
San Francisco was once famous for gay bathhouses like Ritch Street Health Club, the Barracks, and Bulldog Baths. These operated in a legal gray area, with authorities generally turning a blind eye but periodically conducting raids for “lewd conduct.” In the s, fears over the role the venues played in the spread of HIV/AIDS led to a court instruction that made it nearly impossible for the businesses to survive.
None have operated within city limits since , even as an uber-kinky festival with its own waterworks takes place annually on Folsom Street.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, a male lover man who represents the Castro, has been on a multi-year crusade to get bathhouses steaming again. It’s been a history lesson on how outdated mores have wormed their way into a complex bureaucracy.
Mandelman introduced legislation
San Francisco supervisors want to expedite gay bathhouse revival
SAN FRANCISCO, Together STATES: A rainbow flag raises above Castro, the gay and lesbian neighborhood in San Francisco (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images)
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SAN FRANCISCO - Gay bathhouses in San Francisco could see a revival under new legislation spearheaded by District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.
Mandelman, whose district includes the Castro neighborhood, is looking to repeal a section of the police code that puts the burden on the police department for permitting new gay bathhouses.
The ordinance would also repeal outdated and unnecessary regulations that require the bathhouses to maintain a daily register of patrons and "confusing language regarding the permissibility of locked rooms," according to the supervisor's statement.
Mandelman introduced the legislation targeting SFPD's Article 26 on Tuesday. It's because of this article, he says, that SFPD has been unable to issue permits to potential bathhouse operators who h
Castro Baths
San Francisco and the broader Bay Area possess one of the uppermost 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 expose our doors in hour 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) - lgbtq+ bathhouse culture in San Francisco never recovered after the AIDS cr