Club Baths Chain
by Jeff Auer
The Club Baths were one of the first national chain of gay bathhouses in the United States. The first one opened in Cleveland, OH by Jack Campbell in 1965. Just six years later the business had grown to 14 baths all across the country.
In 1977 he showed his emerging political muscle by taking on Florida Orange Juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant in her anti-homosexual crusade.
By it's peak in 1981 it was the biggest bathhhouse chain in the world with locations in: Akron, Atlanta, Austin,Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Two in Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Detroit, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Key West, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Newark, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa, Toledo, Washington D.C., London-Ontario, Toronto and Vancouver.
During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s most of these locations shut down. Today the former chain has split into two seperate companies: CBC Resorts with locations in: Miami, Providence and Philadelphia[1] and The Clubs which has locations in: Columbus, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Indianapolis, New Orleans, St. Louis and Orlando.[2]
