New St. Marks Baths
Encyclopedia
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...
operated by Bruce Mailman
Bruce Mailman
Bruce Mailman was an East Village entrepreneur, Off-Broadway theatre-owner and founder of The Saint and New St. Marks Baths.He graduated from Temple University and received a master's degree in dramatic literature from New York University....
at 6 St. Marks Place
St. Mark's Place (Manhattan)
Saint Mark's Place is a street in the East Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named after St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue. St. Mark's Place, which is a section of 8th Street, runs from Third Avenue to Avenue A...
in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
from 1979 to 1985. It claimed to be the largest gay bath house in the world.
History
A plaqueCommemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
on the building read "On this site stood the winter residence from 1834-1836 and the last 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...
home of the novelist James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
."
The Saint Marks Russian and Turkish Baths opened in the location in 1913. Through the 1950s it operated as a turkish bath catering to immigrants on New York's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. In the 1950s it began to have a homosexual clientele at night. In the 1960s it became exclusively gay.
In 1979 Mailman refurbished the baths and gave its new name. Business prospered so that in 1981 he bought the neighboring building 8 St. Marks Place with plans to expand.
It was described as a sex factory with men walking floor to floor. Music was played on the first floor common areas, but on the top three floors were cubicles where no music was permitted, so that the only sound would be men having sex.
In 1980 Mailman opened The Saint
The Saint (club)
The Saint was an American gay superclub, located in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, that operated from 1980 to 1987.-History:...
in the former Fillmore East
Fillmore East
The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was open from 1968 to 1971, and featured some of the biggest acts in rock music at the time...
building.
The AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic caused some activists such as Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for Women in Love in 1969, earning...
to urge its closing. In October 1985 New York State
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR) § 24.2, authorized 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...
to close any facilities "in which high risk sexual activity
Human sexual behavior
Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...
takes place." On December 9, 1985 the City began the process of closing the baths.
Mailman died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related illness on June 11, 1994.