Tub Time, Part Two

In the comments on Bath Time, our correspondent Kent notes “I might be more inclined to visit one of these dens of iniquity if they weren’t so damned iniquitous here in Seattle. I've never heard anything good about the three we have.” Having spent part of my early homo years in the lovely Seattle and having visited again a couple of times recently, I’m sad to say I have to agree with Kent. Not about the iniquitous part; tubs are supposed to be iniquitous. It’s his lament about them not being very good that gets a big amen from me.

The tubs in Seattle have always rated as some of the dullest I’ve ever graced. The most interesting time in any of them may have been when I broke my toe falling down the stairs at the old Pine Street Baths. It may have been interesting, but it wasn’t what I was looking for at the tubs. The Club Baths had a huge hot tub inside the steam room, which was very deluxe, but they stopped using it as a tub years ago and now it’s just a big waste of space, plus the steam room is too big to be effectively heated. The place that’s the Zodiac was downright scary in the late 70’s. It had been some flop house SRO and the possibility of hooking up with a serial killer always seemed sort of high there.

But what about the mens, the sex, the old in-and-out, the oinky boinky? Feh. The pickings have always been very slim and what few buckos there might be (these places are big and most evenings resemble a ghost town) were not very high quality. They certainly wouldn’t stack up against the charming Steamworks in Chicago or even the skanky Hollywood Spa.

Ken also mentions his desire for a glamorous bathhouse. I applaud the idea. I’ve heard the Steamworks in Toronto fits that bill. I’ll report back as soon as we visit there.