Rob Browatzke
Down Under Bathhouse – A Brief History
In 2021, we acknowledged the 30-year anniversary of the Pisces Spa raid, a raid which led to Edmonton’s early Pride festivities, and to the closure of gay bathhouses like the Pisces and the Gemini. It wasn’t until 1998 that another gay bathhouse would open in Edmonton.
In the interim, of course, the Georgia Baths, a Turkish baths at 9668 Jasper Ave, continued to draw its clientele of men-seeking-men, but the Georgia didn’t advertise itself as a gay space until much later.
Down Under Men’s Bathhouse was set to open in February of 1998. No doubt the Pisces Spa raid figured prominently in the owners’ minds as opening drew near, but the problems around that opening were coming not from Edmonton Police, but from neighbouring residents in Oliver.
It was retired surgeon Erwin Bissell that initiated a letter-writing campaign to City Hall, trotting out all the usual concerns: that a “bawdy house” went against the family nature of the neighbourhood, that bathhouses were immoral, that they were linked to the AIDS crisis here in Edmonton… These unfounded allegations found willing listeners in conservative Albertans. Keep in mind that this time period was at the height of the Vriend battle, which many rightfully saw as the provincial government taking a public and loud anti-gay stance.
Still, Down Under wasn’t without support. Murray Billett (GALA), Dennis Cambly (Times.10 Magazine), and Michael Phair, then on City Council, all spoke up against the outcry. Even then-Mayor Bill Smith, vehemently opposed to granting a proclamation for Pride Week, still found himself forced to admit that there was nothing illegal in the proposed new business.
Not sure what a bathhouse is? It’s a place where men go to socialize and hook up, with amenities such as hot tub and sauna. One of the common features of baths is a dark room, something Down Under wasn’t opening with. Its exclusion was touted as a sign of its greater respectability in the media storm that month.
Down Under opened February of 1998, a business partnership between David Taylor, Jim McBride, and Jim Schafer. The controversies that plagued the final weeks before it opened quickly fizzled out, and it goes without saying that the fears expressed never materialized.
Down Under was an active participant in the greater community, proudly sponsoring events with the ISCWR and Edmonton Pride Festival Society, and working closely with bars like Boots and The Roost on combined events. This could have been expected, as all three owners were past monarchs with the ISCWR, and Jim Schafer had taken over ownership of Boots n Saddle not long before Down Under’s opening.
It was possibly the way Down Under was so upfront and public that prompted the Georgia Baths, under new management, to finally proclaim itself a space for men-seeking-men, and a few years later, a third bathhouse opened, Steamworks. A city that had, just two decades before, been rocked by an intrusive and devastating raid on the Pisces Spa now had three bathhouses!
This bounty of bathhouses was short-lived though. The Georgia, since rechristened as Steamers, was shut down in 2005.
The internet, and the plethora of cruising options that came with it, hit the baths scene as surely as they did the bar scene as surely as they did the bar scene. Down Under embraced it, expanding their website at gayedmonton.com with a Cruiseboard and other features enabling people to meet up. This proved to be a very popular addition to their line-up of services. Even though Down Under had two entrances, one in front and one in back for people wanting a bit more discretion, there were always those who still found such an openly queer space too public for their cruising; the Cruiseboard was an alternative.
After a couple shifts in ownership, Down Under closed September 6, 2011. Though there were initially talks of reopening somewhere else, those plans never materialized. The building was eventually torn down.
Now, it wasn’t just about sex. Yes, that was the primary focus of the business, but bathhouses have always been about something much deeper. In a world where so many places were unsafe for gay and bi men to cruise, a bathhouse like Down Under offered safety. And even when not having sex, its customers found something else there: connection.
Rob Browatzke
Rob Browatzke is an Edmonton club owner and author. He has been professionally involved in a Edmonton’s gay nightlife for over two decades. Most of his novels are set in a fictitious gay nightlife world so this is a topic for which he is truly passionate. You can find him on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.ca/stores/Rob-Browatzke/author/B00H3YSDGO
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Darrin Hagen
It is a shame that “City Hall” and other establishments are so narrow minded about Gay Baths. I had enjoyed times at Down Under. It was a pleasant place to meet and socialize with other gay guys. Down Under was a clean, safe, and respectable place. I miss going there. It would be great is someone or group could venter out and get another bath house in this city. I am amazed at the negativity of gay baths not being allowed in a city of over 1 million people. Wake up people. Times have changed.