Gay bathhouse portland

Built from the ground up in 2003, Steam Portland designed the club for a ergonomic flow and relaxing experience. But they were, and remain, a crucial place for queer people to commune and relax outside the straight gaze. Whether you’re here for a soak, a stretch, a conversation, or a connection — all identities and bodies are welcome at Hawks PDX.

There are no dead end hallways, unique lighting for different areas of the club, and the Northwest's largest outdoor sun deck.

Gay bathhouses thrived until the height of the AIDS crisis in the ’80s, when local and state governments across the country either formally shuttered or surveilled these spaces out of fear and misinformation. I love the leisure and pleasure of a bathhouse.”  

The transformation of eons-old, traditional bathhouses into more male-centric enclaves began in the US in the early twentieth century.

“In different eras of queer history, they’ve offered safety and connection. Black Lights! Our exclusive Hot Tub is a Northwest only feature and has the highest inspection ratings from Multnomah County Health Department. Grounded in Wellness, Consent, and Liberation, we offer space for restoration, celebration, and self-expression — all in a sober-supportive environment.

Still, with the advent of preventive HIV medicines, and the reality that guys still want to meet 
up with other guys for more than locker-room fun, bathhouses continue to survive—barely.

Portland currently has only two gay-identified bathhouses, the all-gender inclusive Hawks PDX, near Mall 205, and Oregon’s only all-male bathhouse, Steam Portland, which sits between NE Sandy and I-84.

In the United States and around the world, the bathhouse was a clandestine (and, eventually, well-known) haven for gay men to meet and, in many cases, hook up. While some saunas and steam rooms held on into the ’90s and early 2000s, they were rarities. The large Steam Room features an amphitheater style seating, a rain fall shower and is kept at a relaxing and sweat enducing 104 degrees