University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 2015 Throwing Open the Door: Preserving Philadelphia's Gay Bathhouses Grey Pierce University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons, Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, and the Social Welfare Commons Pierce, Grey, "Throwing Open the Door: Preserving Philadelphia's Gay Bathhouses" (2015). Theses (Historic Preservation). 579. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/579 Suggested Citation: Pierce, Grey (2015). Throwing Open the Door: Preserving Philadelphia's Gay Bathhouses. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/579 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Throwing Open the Door: Preserving Philadelphia's Gay Bathhouses Abstract In 2014 the National Park Service called for increased preservation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender places in the United States, thereby legitimizing LGBT history on a national level. This thesis is an extension of that appeal and undertakes a study of the preservation of gay bathhouses in an urban landscape. More specifically, it investigates the geographic and architectural significance of gay bathhouses between the early twentieth century and present day. Using the City of Philadelphia as a case study, the thesis explains the cultural and political trends that created the geography and history of the Philadelphia bathhouses. Utilizing quantitative and qualitative data, archival research, and an original survey, the thesis concludes that bathhouses are important to the landscape of gay neighborhoods and that their architecture highlights invaluable narratives of gay life in American history. Commodification, urban development, suburbanization, and politics contributed to the systematic marginalization and exclusion of homosexuals from various urban localities. This thesis argues that applying preservation tools to gay bathhouses can be used to create greater visibility for LGBT people and redefine the meaning of the public sphere. Keywords LGBT, commodificaiton, public sphere, democracy, marginilization Disciplines Gender and Sexuality | Historic Preservation and Conservation | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | Social Welfare Comments Suggested Citation: Pierce, Grey (2015). Throwing Open the Door: Preserving Philadelphia's Gay Bathhouses. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/579 THROWING OPEN THE DOOR: PRESERVING PHILADELPHIA’S GAY BATHHOUSES Grey Pierce A THESIS in Historic Preservation Presented to the Faculties of the Universities of Pennsylvania in Partial Fufillment of the Requirement of the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION 2015 __________ Advisor Aaron Wunsch Assistant Professor ____________ Randall F. Mason ProgramAssociate Chair Professor This thesis is dedicated to Lauren, Mom, Dad, Katherine, and Gregory. ii Acknowledgements - I would like to first thank my “Chief Editor” and driving force through this entire pro gram, who went through the highest of highs and lowest of lows with me during the last two years, my partner Lauren Nadler. I am also grateful to my parents, Gretchen Jones and Patrick Pierce, who have supported and pushed me to achieve all of my goals. I am also appreciative of my grandparents, Richard and Delores Decker, and my siblings, Katherine Pierce and Gregory Pierce. I also could not have done this work without the advice and guidance of Aaron Wunsch. And of course I owe thanks to many, many other friends, family, collegues, and faculty who have helped me to get where I am. iii Table of Contents Introduction 1 4 Chapter 1 22 Chapter 2 47 Chapter 3 67 Chapter 4 86 ConclusionChapter 5 122 124 Bibliography Appendix 167138 Index iv List of Figures Gayborhood 2.1.Tourism2.2. May of Gay Map of the Center City (1975) 3545 Commercial Space in Center City (1985) 45 2.3. Map of Gay Commercial Space in 49 3.1. Swaim’sFloor Plan Bathhouse of Gaskill Baths 52 3.2. 52 3.3. Tacony Public Bath 54 3.4. Baths on Walnut Street 65 3.5.Bellevue Baths Locker Room 65 3.6. Club Philadelphia Locker Room 77 4.1. Physical Setting Table 78 4.2. Surrounding Neighborhood Table 79 4.3. Street Setting Table 80 4.4.4.5. BuildingFaçade Table Position Table 81 4.6. Plans and Layout Table 82 4.7. Finishes and Decorations Table 8384 4.8. Intangible Qualities Table 5.1.Google Map Generated of the Bathhouse Locations in the Post-War Period in88 Philadelphia 90 5.2. Table of Philadelphia Bathhouse and Years of Operations 99 5.3. Camac Center Corner of Chancellor and Camac Street Google Images 105 5.4. Exterior of Hale Building 107 5.5.5.6. Drucker’sCheck-in Counter Bellevue of Baths’ Bellevue Health Baths Sign 108 110 5.7. Bellevue Baths’ Locker Room 110 5.8. Turkish Steam Room Entrance 115 5.9. Sling Room at Sansom Street Gym 116 5.10. Sansom Street Gym Equipment Room v Introduction: Throwing Open the Door While there is a rich body of work on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) history in terms of social theory and activism, very little of it actually discusses the relationship of the queer community to the built environment. Extant scholarship on bathhouses typically analyzes space though medical or legal studies, which are oppressive frameworks. Further,1 there is no scholarship that seriously considers the- preservation of bathhouses. Most of the spaces already designated by preservation ists tell the story of LGBT activism and art, but do not touch on the centrality of sex as a part of gay life. The reality that same-sex attraction is central to gay culture rarely- comes into public discussion of homosexuality. The necessity of performing and dis cussing sexual acts in private means that gay “public” life occurs behind the doors of- bathhouses. Additionally, bathhouses have historically been a relatively protected en vironment compared to bars and cruising grounds (places where men sought sexual partners), “safe” from police and other legal scrutiny overlooked by most historians. George Chauncey, a historian, writes: They [baths] were some of the first exclusively gay commercial spaces in- the city. The most stable of gay institutions, they outlasted every gay bar- and restaurant in the city and provided a place safe from police and vig ilantes alike in which to meet other gay men. Forthrightly sexual in char- acter, the baths were also important social centers, where gay men could2 meet openly, discuss their lives, and build a circle of friends. Their dis tinctive character fostered a sense of community among their patrons. Because baths were widespread in almost every major American city and played a role in defining early gay communities, it is important to study gay bathhouses through- more than the isolated frameworks of history, medicine, and social theory. The nar Associated Press1 While there have been no specific bodies of work (that I know of) discussing the preservation of bathhouses, a few articles in newspapers, most notablySan an Jose article Mercury this past News summer by , cover the historyGay of New gay York: Americans Gender, as Urban reflected Culture, in the and life the of Makinggay bathhouses. of the Gay Matt Male Hamilton, World, 1890- 1940“Gay Bathhouses(New York: BasicNationwide Books, Face 1994), Uncertain 224. Future,” , August 13, 2014. 2 George Chauncey, 1 This thesis concen- 3 rative of gay or queer society is wed to urban space in this study. - trates on the geography and history of a particular city, Philadelphia, which while sig nificant in the history of the bathhouse and of gay culture more generally, should not be taken as entirely representative. The City of Brotherly Love has a unique history in- that while it is a large city with a popular gay scene, the gay baths have gone undetect ed for most of the twentieth century. The gay bathhouses were not shut down during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, like they were in San Francisco and New York, and have remained unnoticed compared to those in other large cities with vibrant queer cultures. - Because no study has addressed the issues of urban space, architecture, his tory, and gay bodies, I have drawn on a wide variety of resources including broad social histories, scientific articles, and place based narratives. Furthermore, because law and society stigmatize homosexuality, detailed historical data are hard to come by. In many instances concrete dates are available, but other numbers are not. It is difficult to grapple with the geography of queer identities given that gay men were not identified by traditional historic resources such as census data, questionnaires, and maps. Writings from Chauncey and architect and theorist Ira Tattelman, along- with multiple medical studies, helped to frame the organization of space and archi tecture in bathhouses. Their arguments lay a strong foundation for the bathhouse story; however, little exists in the way of studies regarding the relation of bathhouses to the larger cities. Most studies focus on the insular nature of bathhouses as separate worlds from the urban contexts in which they stood. A master’s thesis by folklorist Jacob Galecki mentions the organization of gay commercial space in Philadelphia, but focuses on bars and theaters, relegating discussion of bathhouses to footnotes. Much of what was written about bathhouses in their day relates to the backlash against the 3 “Queer” will be used in this paper to describe the LGBT and gay community. Historically queer was a derogatory term used to shame homosexuals. Since2 the late 1970s communities of LGBT people have reclaimed the term by calling themselves and their community queer. gay community because of HIV/AIDS. Bathhouses became one of many scapegoats for the sexual “promiscuity” prevalent in American culture during the 1970s.