ju s t o u t ▼ October 18, 1 8 9 0 T i l
Ray Bidegain Studio
Out off steam
Some of the history o f gay Portland gives way to the future
as a onetime bathhouse becomes a parking garage
V
by Inga Sorensen
Brian Marki Framing
and Fine Art
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ucked in the basement of the bustling
Rich’s Cigar Store on Southwest Al
der Street in downtown Portland lie
the remnants of another era.
“From 1978 to 1985, that was the
home of the Club Continental Baths,” explains
Tom Cook of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the
Pacific Northwest, which collects and preserves
historical information relating to the region’s
sexual minorities community.
The gay bathhouse was one of a handful func
tioning in Portland during the dawn of the AIDS
era.
“It was one of the nicer ones. It was kept clean.
There was a water bed—a round one—a steam
bath and a Jacuzzi. There was also a small dance
floor,” recounts 65-year-old Dick Burdon, a
GLAPN member and former bathhouse patron.
“It’s a part of history, a look at what gay life was
like before MCC, the Gay Men’s Chorus, the
square dance club and all of the other things we
now have.”
Indeed. Signs of out and proud gay and lesbian
life have swelled so phenomenally during the past
five years alone, that—at least in queer years—
1980 may as well be 1900.
“Fifteen years ago we had the baths and the
bars. The baths operated 24 hours, and when the
bars closed for the night, the baths really took
off,” Burdon says. “Men would meet socially and
anonymously. Some people met partners, but
there was a lot of anonymous sex, and the baths
were safer than the parks. And then came AIDS.”
He adds, “There’s still some bathhouse activ
ity out there, but at a reduced level.”
“The bathhouse appears to represent a lifestyle
that no longer exists,” says Don Vallaster, the
Portland architect who will employ his expertise
to transform the site— a historic landmark and
formerly the Cornelius Hotel— into swanky con
dominiums for the city’s upscale set.
When Vallaster is through, the defunct baths
will comfortably harbor the BMWs, Mercedes I
Benzes and Jeep Grand Cherokees of condo own
ers. Translation: the spot will be flattened to make
way for parking.
That’s where Cook and company come in.
"W e’re interested in preserving the history of
our community, and this is part of it,” he says. “It
reflects the 1970s in that the bathhouse was about
declaring there was no shame in gay sex and
sexuality. We plan to do a photographic record of
much of the debris in the basement.”
Cook says he’s gotten the OK from the owners
to do just that.
“My partner actually used to go there,” says
Cook. “We went for a walk-through recently.”
On the walls, he says, are “primitive outlines
of men engaging in various sexual acts.”
“If there was a black light shining, the figures
would glow,” says Cook, adding the bath served
as a diner during the 1920s and 1930s.
“I would say the artwork was competently
done, but that the subject is somewhat primitive,”
assesses critic Vallaster.
“We’re still trying to make out the artist’s
signature,” Cook says. “Bathhouse art could be
found not only here but in baths throughout the
country. Before he became famous, Keith Haring
used to illustrate on the walls of gay establish
ments in New York.
“When he became well known, people went in
and actually tried to chisel those works off the
walls. I don’t think the artist who did the drawings
at the Club Continental Bathhouse is going to
have to worry about that,” he laughs.
Vallaster, meanwhile, says one can still find
intact about 40 “private rooms,” a semi-open
shower area with “four or five heads,” and the
undoubtedly popular orgy room.
If all goes according to schedule, however,
that will all be gone in a year and a half or two.
“Some of the building’s corridors will be
preserved and some of the detailing,” says
Vallaster. “But the rooms are not noteworthy.
We’re talking a major overhaul.”
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