Everard Baths
Encyclopedia
The Everard Baths or Everard Spa Turkish Bathhouse was a gay bathhouse
at 28 West 28th Street in New York City
that operated from 1888 to 1985. The venue occupied an adaptively reused church building and was the site of a deadly fire.
On November 28, 1898 a soldier was found dead in his room at the baths and gas was suspected.
On January 5, 1919 the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
encouraged a police raid in which the manager and nine customers were arrested for lewd behavior. It was raided again in 1920 with 15 arrests.
It was patronized largely by homosexuals by the 1920s and became the community's preeminent social venue from the 1930s onward. It was patronized by gay men before the 1920s and by the 1930s had a reputation as "classiest, safest, and best known of the baths," eventually picking up the nickname, Everhard.
The entrance was lit by two green lamps giving according to patrons the appearance of being a police precinct and giving rise to speculation that it was owned for a period by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York
(a claim that would be vehemently denied after patrons died in a 1979 fire).
Emlyn Williams
described a visit in 1927:
Among the documented patrons were Alfred Lunt
, Lorenz Hart
, Charles James
, Gore Vidal
and Nureyev. Truman Capote
and Ned Rorem
wrote about their visits.
On May 25, 1977 nine patrons (ages 17 to 40) were killed in a fire: seven from smoke inhalation, one from respiratory burns, and one who had jumped from an upper floor. Contributing factors were the deteriorating conditions and the lack of sprinklers. Firefighters said they were thwarted in rescue efforts by paneling covering the windows. Between 80 and 100 patrons left the building; the indefinite number was because the club did not have registration at the time. Most of the victims were identified by friends rather than family. Accounts said costs were $5 for a locker or $7 for a cubicle ($6 and $9.25 on weekends).
Despite the damage the baths would reopen. However, it was closed in April 1986 by New York City mayor Ed Koch
during the city’s campaign to close such venues during the AIDS epidemic.
wrote a book A Day and a Night at the Baths devoted totally to the baths.
The bath is also described in the book Dancer from the Dance
by Andrew Holleran
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
at 28 West 28th Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that operated from 1888 to 1985. The venue occupied an adaptively reused church building and was the site of a deadly fire.
History
Everard Baths was a Turkish bath founded by financier James Everard in 1888 in a former church building, designed in a typical late-nineteenth-century Victorian Romanesque Revival architectural style. James Everard who operated the Everard brewery on 135th Street converted it to a bathhouse in 1888. Everard's bathhouse was intended for general health and fitness.On November 28, 1898 a soldier was found dead in his room at the baths and gas was suspected.
On January 5, 1919 the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
New York Society for the Suppression of Vice
The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice was an institution dedicated to supervising the morality of the public, founded in 1873. Its specific mission was to monitor compliance with state laws and work with the courts and district attorneys in bringing offenders to justice. It and its...
encouraged a police raid in which the manager and nine customers were arrested for lewd behavior. It was raided again in 1920 with 15 arrests.
It was patronized largely by homosexuals by the 1920s and became the community's preeminent social venue from the 1930s onward. It was patronized by gay men before the 1920s and by the 1930s had a reputation as "classiest, safest, and best known of the baths," eventually picking up the nickname, Everhard.
The entrance was lit by two green lamps giving according to patrons the appearance of being a police precinct and giving rise to speculation that it was owned for a period by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York
The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York is the largest labor union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. Several representatives of the Association sit on the board of the New York City Police Pension Fund...
(a claim that would be vehemently denied after patrons died in a 1979 fire).
Emlyn Williams
Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
described a visit in 1927:
- Up some stairs at a desk an ashen bored man in shirtsleeves produced a ledger crammed with illegible scrawls. I added mine, paid my dollar, was handed a key, towel and robe, hung the key on my wrist and mounted to a large floor as big as a warehouse and as high: intersecting rows of private rooms each windowless cell dark except from the glimmer from above through wire-netting shredded with dust and containing a narrow workhouse bed...[he later heard] a casual whisper, a sigh lighter than thistle-down, a smothered moan. Then appeasement: the snap of a lighter as two strangers sat back for a smoke and polite murmured small talk, such as they might exchange in a gym.
Among the documented patrons were Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt was an American stage director and actor, often identified for a long-time professional partnership with his wife, actress Lynn Fontanne...
, Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, Charles James
Charles James
Charles James may refer to:* Charles James , football player* Charles James , former U.S. assistant attorney general* Charles James * Charles Pinckney James , U.S. federal judge...
, Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
and Nureyev. Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
and Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer and diarist. He is best known and most praised for his song settings.-Life:...
wrote about their visits.
On May 25, 1977 nine patrons (ages 17 to 40) were killed in a fire: seven from smoke inhalation, one from respiratory burns, and one who had jumped from an upper floor. Contributing factors were the deteriorating conditions and the lack of sprinklers. Firefighters said they were thwarted in rescue efforts by paneling covering the windows. Between 80 and 100 patrons left the building; the indefinite number was because the club did not have registration at the time. Most of the victims were identified by friends rather than family. Accounts said costs were $5 for a locker or $7 for a cubicle ($6 and $9.25 on weekends).
Despite the damage the baths would reopen. However, it was closed in April 1986 by New York City mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
during the city’s campaign to close such venues during the AIDS epidemic.
Popular culture
Michael RumakerMichael Rumaker
Michael Rumaker is an American author , to Michael Joseph and Winifred Marvel Rumaker. He is a graduate of Black Mountain College and Columbia University ....
wrote a book A Day and a Night at the Baths devoted totally to the baths.
The bath is also described in the book Dancer from the Dance
Dancer from the Dance
Dancer from the Dance is a 1978 novel by Andrew Holleran about gay men in New York City, United States.-Plot summary:The novel revolves around two main characters: Anthony Malone, a young man from the Midwest who leaves behind his "straight" life as a lawyer to immerse himself in the gay life of...
by Andrew Holleran
Andrew Holleran
Andrew Holleran is the pseudonym of Eric Garber , a novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is a prominent novelist of post-Stonewall gay literature. He was a member of The Violet Quill, a gay writer's group that met briefly from 1980-81. The Violet Quill included other prolific gay writers...
External links
- The Everard Baths is also extensively covered here: http://gaytubs.com/lengendary.htm