New Male-Only Bathhouse Raises Concerns

Miami businessman Charles Fleck is proud of his latest venture here in his hometown of Cleveland. Next month he plans to open an upscale, men-only bathhouse in an old Greyhound bus garage in the industrial neighborhood of E. 26th and St. Clair. Fleck says the rambling art deco structure will be the biggest private club of its kind in the country, a veritable oasis for gay men who want to swim, sauna or sunbathe nude on a rooftop sandpit.

Charles Fleck: People think the bathhouse is just... this sordid place where people - no, it's a social club for gay men, where they can come, they participate in all different kinds. Yes, they can meet here. But they can also get exercise, they can swim, they can get training, they can, you know, have entertainment.

Fleck's club won't be the only gay bathhouse in Cleveland, but the announcement of its opening has rung alarm bells in the local gay and public health communities. Leaders of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland are concerned that media frenzy over Fleck's super-spa will distract attention from more important issues like gay marriage rights. And Bill Tiedemann, who heads the health department's HIV/AIDS unit, says he's concerned about health practices at the bathhouse.

Bill Tiedemann: We're very concerned that an additional bathhouse or a place where there could be unsafe sex practices would increase HIV and STDs in general.

Earl Pike, who heads the Greater Cleveland Task Force on AIDS, says there's good reason to worry about the spread of HIV. Since the AIDS virus was first identified in the gay community more than 25 years ago, he says AIDS awareness campaigns have helped keep the rate of new infections among gay men relatively stable. But Pike says that's changing.

Earl Pike: We've seen an increase in new HIV infections - and in some cases syphilis, as well - among younger gay men that is causing us deep concern.

Jordan: I just found out that one of my gay friends is HIV-positive.

Jordan is a young, bi-sexual Cleveland man who asked that we not use his last name. He says he's been surprised at the apparently casual attitude over HIV among many of his gay friends.

Jordan: It seems like it's not talked about very much. I think there is an awareness, but it seems to be nonchalant, they're not as careful as they should be.

Jordan says he wouldn't feel comfortable in a bathhouse and he's not likely to be a customer. But he will continue to frequent gay nightclubs and bars. Bill Tiedemann with the city health department says in terms of public health, a well-run gay bathhouse isn't a bad idea.

Bill Tiedemann: I would rather see a bathhouse, because I can reach more people through a specific type of business like this than have them scattered through Internet sites and gay bars and not being able to speak with folks.

Tiedemann has been working with managers of the new bathhouse to hammer out a memorandum of understanding with the health department over specific policies and practices he'd like to see owners adopt.

Bill Tiedemann: Such as having a men's health coordinator or staff that's been trained on HIV prevention, a men's health night which would include HIV testing and STD testing, condoms at the entrance of the bathhouse and in all rooms.

Tiedemann says he also wants bathhouse managers to adopt policies for eviction for drugs and prostitution. Cleveland Law Director Robert Triozzi says he can enforce criminal violations, but there's not much he can do if bathhouse owners don't cooperate in other areas.

Robert Triozzi: If there's a violation of the code, then there can be enforcement. The memorandum of understanding, if there's a violation of that that's outside the code, then that's a different matter entirely.

But owner Charles Fleck says he has every intention of doing what he can to keep his customers safe and healthy.

Charles Fleck: We probably hand out and give away and purchase more condoms than anybody in the world. And yes, we don't want to lose one customer, we want to do everything in the world to help our customers out.

And that, for now at least, will have to satisfy local health concerns. Fleck has been advertising his new club in gay publications across the country. It's scheduled to open July 2nd. Karen Schaefer, 90.3 News.

Bathhouses have a long tradition in many cultures outside the gay community. The Romans built public bathhouses in their cities that contained hot, cool and tepid pools believed to be good for health. This photograph is of the Roman bath still in existence in Bath, England. It featured the somewhat sulfurous waters of a native spring.

This small, private pool off the main bath in Bath, England was probably used by men and women alike - although not at the same time.

By contrast, this as yet unfinished swimming pool at Charles Fleck's new men-only bathhouse in Cleveland will be fed by tap water cleaned and filtered through three sand traps, as well as the use of chemicals. Cobalt-blue tiles will line the walls.

Fleck's whirlpool bath is being built in the bottom of a pit where Greyhound buses once stood for oil-changes and other service. Fleck says even the soil under the pit has undergone environmental clean-up.

On the roof of the bathhouse, workers prepare to spread tons of sand for a nude sunbathing area. An ocean mural will adorn the walls that shelter the area from the street. Fleck says he hopes sunbathers will feel like they're at the beach.

At the moment, the old Greyhound bus garage Fleck is converting into a gay bathhouse still looks like a construction zone. But he says the old art deco building, with its rounded corners, blue tile, and glass block windows will be a showplace when it's finished.