The Legendary Continental Baths of New York City & The Mount Morris Baths of Harlem

THE CONTINENTAL BATHS

The Ansonia Hotel, New York City, circa 1880.

...It was there that, almost a century later, Bette Midler would perform her poolside act to a crowd of towel-clad spectators.

In the late 1960's Steve Ostrow opened the famous Continental Baths in the basement of the landmark 1903 Ansonia Hotel, which was home to such greats as Caruso, Stravinsky and Toscanini. Famous for its lavish accommodations, the Continental Baths was advertised as being reminiscent of "the glory of ancient Rome." The impressive features of this bathhouse included a disco dance floor, a cabaret lounge, sauna rooms, an "Olympia blue" swimming pool, and clean, spacious facilities that could serve nearly 1,000 men, 24 hours a day. One gay guide from the 1970's described the Continental Baths as a place that "revolutionized the bath scene in New York." An added attraction at the club was the first class entertainment provided by performers such as Melba Moore, Peter Allen, Cab Calloway, The Manhattan Transfer, John Davidson, Wayland Flowers and Bette Midler, who began her career by performing there with Barry Manilow in 1972. Despite Midler's constant complaints about "that goddam waterfall," her poolside performances were so successful that she soon gained national attention, beginning with repeat performances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Many of those who were fortunate enough to see Bette's early bathhouse shows attest to the fact that her greatest achievement in show business took place the night she convinced the otherwise shy Barry Manilow to accompany her on the piano while wearing only a white towel, which was considered "proper bathhouse attire." As the popularity of the cabaret shows increased, a wide variety of entertainers were invited to "give it up" at the Continental Baths, including the soprano Eleanor Steber, who gave a "black towel" concert there in 1973. The list of visitors to the Continental Baths read like a "who's who" of the entertainment world, from actors, singers, artists, producers, to the mafia and even the Metropolitan Opera, which both paid a visit. But for those unfortunate souls who never descended into that legendary basement bathhouse, the Continental came to them in the form of the highly popular Continental Baths towel, which was sold by Bloomingdale's department store at the height of the club's fame. It was during this period that The Pat Collins Show broadcast live from the club. In one segment, Pat sat by the pool and interviewed proprietor Steve Ostrow while nude men, apparently indifferent to the television cameras, went splashing by. By the end of the day, WCBS-TV received only one complaint about the program.

Continental Baths Towel from Bloomingdales circa 1973

An interesting bit of gay bathhouse history recently surfaced for auction on eBay. It's an original Continental Baths towel, which was issued by Bloomingdale's Department Store for a 1973 Metropolitan Opera House Special "Elenor Steiber Live at the Bath house" recorded by RCA Victor.

The image above features the vivacious Steve Ostrow on stage at the Continental Baths. In 2005 at age 72 Steve still has the energy he had 35 years ago!

You can purchase the film SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS from Amazon.com

Unfortunately, the Continental Baths had lost much of its gay clientele by 1974, or "almost overnight," as many remember it. The reason for the decline in patronage was, as one gay New Yorker put it, "We finally got fed up with those silly-assed, campy shows. All those straight people in our bathhouse made us feel like we were part of the decor, and that we were there for their amusement. So we ended up going to other bathhouses where sex was taken more seriously." Although the cabaret performances were highly popular among the straight couples who went there "dressed in tuxedos and Norma Kamali gowns," a large number of the men who patronized the Continental were interested primarily in the sexual side of the bathhouse. The gay writer, Edmund White, always seemed to be "exasperated" by the concerts because they distracted the regular patrons from the more important task of cruising for sex. "I was so sex-obsessed that I found it irritating when she (Midler) was there," said White, "because everybody stopped their sexual activities to listen to her. I was the person fuming away in the background, hoping everybody would hurry up and get back to work!"

Continental Baths Ad from a 1970s Gay Magazine

By the time 1974 had ended, patronage was so low that Steve Ostrow had decided discontinue the lounge acts. He focused, instead, on resurrecting his business by making the baths coed. He even advertised on WBLS, but to no avail. In the end, Ostrow closed the Continental Baths for good. The facility, however, was reopened as a heterosexual swingers' club called Plato's Retreat, but it was shut down by the City of New York at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

Some facts about the Continental Baths:

***A memorable feature of the Continental Bathhouse was the secret light warning system that tipped off the patrons when the police were there. There was also a VD clinic, a supply of A-200 in the showers, and KY jel in the candy dispensing machine. Interestingly enough, other bathhouses of the day soon jumped on the Continental bandwagon by featuring entertainment for their patrons. In San Francisco, one bathhouse opened a "Starlight Cabaret" which featured local singers and bands. Country-western performers also began playing on "Western Night" at some baths.

In February 1969 the Continental Baths was raided by the New York City Police. Twenty-two patrons were arrested, identified by a towel-clad police officer who pointed out the men who offered to have sex with him or actually had had sex with him! The scene was replayed again in December of that year, when police entered the Continental Baths and arrested three patrons and three employees, charging them with committing lewd and lascivious acts and criminal mischief, respectively.

Fortunately, Steve Ostrow was more than happy to contribute to this website a few words regarding his experience at the tubs:

"I built the Continental Baths in 1968 and discovered Bette Midler in 1969. The Baths were not only an expression of sexual liberation, but also heralded in a rebirth of Cabaret in the city of New York. Artists of the ilk of Barry Manilow, Manhattan Transfer, Peter Allen, Margaret Whiting, Melba Moore, Liz Torres, Patti LaBelle and countless others in addition to Bette got their first big break at the Continental Baths.

The Baths and I are the subject of several chapters in the latest biography of Bette called Bette (1995 Birch Lane press, Carol Publishing Group). The Baths and I have also been extensively written about in Bette's own book, A View From A Broad, Barry Manilow's autobiography My Sweet Life; James Gavin's Intimate Nights; The Golden Age of Cabaret, Stephen Maclean's The Boy From Oz, and countless other books depicting the age of sexual revolution etc. In addition the Baths were the subject of a major motion picture The Ritz, which was released in the late seventies.

The Continental was a phenomenon that came out of a pre-AIDS world that we will probably never experience again. But more than just being a bathhouse and showplace, the Baths were a place where people came out of their closets and found out who they were. It was the first gay establishment to treat gay people as equals and not exploit them. It was instrumental in having the laws against homosexuality rescinded and gave birth, along with Stonewall, to a whole generation where gay was in. Beyond that it ushered in an era of sexual liberation and alternative lifestyles that, to this day, has never been equaled.

I feel that it is now time for me to tell the whole story of the Baths for the first time. The inside story of how and why it came about, and the whole subculture is engendered. But far from being just another chronicle of a bygone era, and as I was a rather prominent fellow in the gay world, having been crowned "King Queens" in a 16-page Rolling Stone article, I also relate my own life story, leading up to what motivated me to create such a place and the ramifications it had on myself and my family as I, too, was liberated together with the Baths.

Much has been written about the Baths, but the story of how it came about---the 200 raids by the New York Police Department; the pressures from the Mafia; the famous people who visited it; the relationships that were formed; the drug culture that existed in the city; the political upheaval in the city of New York---all of this has never been revealed.

Woven through the book is also my own journey as I simultaneously pursued an operatic career, having sung with some of the most famous opera stars in the world in Germany, France, the United States, Canada and Australia. I also try to explore and share the confusion and frustrations I have felt as a bisexual, not understood by the gay or the straight world." -- Steve Ostrow

MT. MORRIS BATHS

Mount Morris Gay Baths Telephone Book Ad

Harlem's very own Mt. Morris Baths was opened in 1893, and slowly evolved into a social center for gay black men. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, the facility was built by a group of doctors who used the venue as a health spa for their patients, but sometime in the 1930's Mt. Morris made the transition into a gay bathhouse. After 100 years it remains the only predominantly black bathhouse in the city, and earlier in the twentieth century it was the only bathhouse in the city to admit black men. It continues to draw a mostly black crowd, along with a share of Latinos and white men. At first glance, Mt. Morris looks similar to any other aging, basement bathhouse: small rooms with aged mattresses on wooden slats, steam pipes jutting out of the walls, dormitory-style bunk beds with rust, numerous men cruising the halls in towels, others trying their luck in the steam room. But that's just on the surface. "Mt. Morris has a rich, interesting history," said Carl, a regular visitor there during the 1960's, "It once attracted its share of famous people from places like the Apollo Theater. You'd be walking the halls and all of a sudden you would see that singer who went on to record that big hit, laying on his bed, gesturing for you to come into his room."

Although the amenities offered at Mt. Morris are not modern nor state of the art, certain patrons believe that any changes to modernize the facility would ruin its sexual ambience. Like one patron ("Robert") said, "The sexual atmosphere of the place, with all the steam pipes in full view, is hot and heavy." In addition, many agree that the social esthetics of Mt. Morris are more like a social club, "Like you're in a clubhouse, not a bathhouse." But don't let that fool you. Some of the hottest sex in the city happens at Mt. Morris, with "leather dudes" occasionally making an appearance among the regulars who go there, sometimes more than once a week. "At one time all the rooms had glory holes on both sides," said one New Yorker, "and you could sit there and suck off an unlimited number of cocks, but the holes were nailed shut, thanks to that asshole mayor of ours."

In a poetry collection titled "Black Men, White Men," the poet G. S. Weinerman immortalized the Mt. Morris Baths by writing a piece titled "Mt. Morris Baths, New York." In the poem, he wrote about the "ancient, loving rooms" and the "furtive heritage" of the historic bathhouse. The postscript to the poem read: "Today, it is old and faded, but if you look hard, you can feel and see the lost elegance which somehow remains.

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