Former names The Saint Marks Baths Address 6 St. Marks Place Opened 1913 Renovated 1979 | Type Gay bathhouse Country United States Owner Bruce Mailman | |
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Location Manhattan, New York City, New York Closed December 9, 1985 (1985-12-09) Similar Everard Baths, Mineshaft, Continental Baths, Julius, Stonewall National Monument | ||
The New St. Marks Baths was a gay bathhouse at 6 St. Marks Place in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City from 1979 to 1985. It claimed to be the largest gay bath house in the world.
The Saint Marks Baths opened in the location in 1913. Through the 1950s it operated as a turkish bath catering to immigrants on New York's Lower East Side. In the 1950s it began to have a homosexual clientele at night. In the 1960s it became exclusively gay.
In 1979 the bathhouse was refurbished, and the name was changed to the New Saint Marks Baths. In 1981 the neighboring building was purchased, with plans to expand.
The AIDS epidemic caused some activists such as Larry Kramer to urge its closing. In October 1985 New York State Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR) ยง 24.2, authorized the New York City Department of Health to close any facilities "in which high risk sexual activity takes place." On December 9, 1985 the City began the process of closing the baths.