Portland gay bathhouses

We live by them. Club Portland lasted until 2007; in 2009, McMenamins purchased and began renovating the storied building, now home to the Crystal Hotel. 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.

That included Portland: In the gay bathhouse’s heyday, the city was home to at least a half-dozen, places that hosted men’s socials and fundraisers as well as shvitzes and trysts.

As a new generation of Portland social saunas rise in popularity, the gay bathhouse seems to remain on the margins.

And we’re now open 24 HOURS on weekends!

Rooted in Queer joy, leadership, and community care, Hawks is a welcoming anchorpoint for LGBTQIA2S+ and Gender-Diverse people — and our Allies — to relax, connect, and thrive. 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.

While some saunas and steam rooms held on into the ’90s and early 2000s, they were rarities. All rooms are designed to maximize space with full size single or queen beds. According to queer historic preservationist Cayla McGrail, Club Portland opened as Hotel Alma in 1911 and eventually became the Majestic Hotel and Club Baths in 1971.

Kept at a comfortable 102 degrees, you'll find its cleanliness and comfort most relaxing. J.