The Associated Press is reporting that gay bathhouses, once a big part of urban gay life, have declined considerably since their heyday in the 1970s.

In the heyday of bathhouses in the late 1970s, there were nearly 200 gay bathhouses in cities across the U.S., but by 1990, the total had dropped to approximately 90, according to Damron, the publisher of an annual gay travel guide. In the last decade, bathhouses, including ones in San Diego, Syracuse, Seattle and San Antonio, have shut down and the total nationwide is less than 70. Most patrons are older.

Bathhouses date to the Roman Empire. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, American bathhouses were built in many cities to maintain public hygiene among poor and immigrant communities. Chicago and Manhattan each had about 20 public bathhouses.But the need for public places to wash up declined and by the 1950s and ’60s, bathhouses largely had become rendezvous spots for gays, prompting occasional raids because sodomy was still criminalized.

In response, some bathhouses are upgrading their amenities, engaging in aggressive advertising campaigns, and offering steep discounts to younger patrons. The decline is more noticeable in areas more accepting of gays where gay people can be more open. In more conservative areas, gay people still need a place where they can secretly hook up.

(Source: Associated Press)