Gay harlem nyc

History

Located in the basement floor of the Lohengrin apartment house, the Mt. Morris Baths (originally the Mayer Baths) was the first commercial tenant of this space. The establishment, featuring Turkish and Russian baths, catered to a mostly Jewish clientele and in the late 19th century was also established as a hangout for police officers. By 1915, the baths were renamed the Mt. Morris Baths, and by the 1920s and 1930s, African-American patrons began frequenting the baths reflecting changes in the demographics of the neighborhood.

When exactly it began to attract a predominantly same-sex attracted, African-American clientele is unknown, but it was mostly likely in the 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance. In 1923, Carl Van Vechten, patron of the Harlem Renaissance, noted in his diary that he had visited the baths, which at the time was known for its “rough trade.” In 1930, Countee Cullen left his wife Yolande Du Bois for Harold Jackman, who he had allegedly met at the baths. Lincoln Kirstein characterized the baths as “a rendezvous” for “notorious homosexuals, deviated perverts, and merc