Gay spa north hollywood
Hollywood Spa opened in and, before the advent of HIV and AIDS, was a major destination for gay men who had limited other places to meet one another. It had private rooms, a DJ, a steam room and jacuzzi, an “adult video” lounge, a gym and a cafe. The spa boasted on its website that it hosted over , visitors a year.
"At the upscale Hollywood Spa on Ivar Avenue, towel-wrapped patrons can look each other over while working out on gym equipment or sipping freshly squeezed orange juice from the cafe. Vintage Hollywood posters cover the walls, strobe lights flicker, and DJs spin the latest club music." (L.A. Times, 27 Oct, )
The spa was ordered to shut in , as part of an enforcement of stringent regulations restricting sexual activity at lgbtq+ bathhouses. “I don’t plan to close,” said Scott D.R. Goulet, owner of Hollywood Spa, Ivar Ave. “We adjudicated this issue two years ago. We won it then. The county was wrong,” he said. Co-owner and spa manager John Ferry told the LA Times: “We’re going to fight this thing. As far as we’re concerned, w
Los Angeles (AP) — Gay bathhouses that once remained in the shadows to stay in business are now inquiring attention to keep their doors open.
Some are doing aggressive online advertising and community outreach. Others tout their upscale amenities appreciate plush towels and marble baths. A bathhouse in Ohio has even added hotel rooms and a nightclub.
Gone are the days when bathhouses drew crowds just by offering a discreet place forgays to gather, share saunas and, often, have sex.
"The acceptance of gays has changed the whole nature. It's taken away the need to sneak into back-alley places," said Dennis Holding, 75, who owns a Miami-based bathhouse.
In the heyday of bathhouses in the late s, there were nearly gay bathhouses in cities across the U.S., but by , the total had dropped to approximately 90, according to Damron, the publisher of an annual gay travel guide. In the last decade, bathhouses, including ones in San Diego, Syracuse, Seattle and San Antonio, have seal down and the total nationwide is less than Most patrons are older.
Hollywood Spa — one of the largest bathhouses in
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