Just Check What Kind of Bathhouse It Is First

By Alicia Dorr in News on Jan 11, 2007 8:00PM

Call us naive, but we always thought it was common knowledge that, after the fall of the Roman Empire, bathhouses were a place where gay men could have sex with one another. Just ask Chuck Renslow or anyone involved with the Chicago Leather Archives and Museum, or go to 5015 N. Clark and enter "Man's Country."

We never had a problem with it — we just figured that the whole bathhouse thing wasn't for us. Well, it turns out we were wrongdeadwrong. First, we hear about Russian bathhouses in New York where they do an incredibly strange but totally awesome massage that involves them hitting you with sticks and dumping cold water over your head (and we're not being facetious when we say that sounds cool, either).

Now we're hearing about Division Russian and Turkish Baths that offers you a pastrami sandwich, a cold beer and a hot steam bath. That sounds ridiculously amazing. The bathhouse, which has been open since 1906, just fully re-opened its men's facilities after renovations, and this week its food counter and women's facilities will open, too. Apparently, for $20, you just sit around in really steaming rooms and eat tasty food. This winter you'll also be able to go there to get $10 men's haircuts and $10 manicures and pedicures.

We had our doubts about the merits of bathhouses, but, we swear, we're a changed blog. Sign us up.

Image via art.com.