Minneapolis decriminalizes adult bathhouses, ending AIDS-crisis-era ban
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Just before the Twin Cities Pride Parade on Sunday, a small group of city council members and community leaders gathered at Minneapolis City Hall as Mayor Jacob Frey signed the ordinances to repeal the adult bathhouse ban.
“Minneapolis stands with our LGBTQIA+ neighbors — we always will,” Frey wrote on social media about the signing. “That’s why I’m proud to have stood with members of the City Council and community advocates to sign the Bathhouse Repeal Ordinance and Pride in Policy package into law.”
Last week, the city council voted 9-2 (with one abstaining and one absent) to repeal the ban on adult bathhouses and sex venues. Adult bathhouses are community spaces that were historically frequented by gay men in the 1970s and ‘80s where people could engage in sexual activity or relax after going out to bars. They were banned in Minneapolis in 1988 during the AIDS epidemic.
The city initially invited advocates to meet outside 315 1st Avenue North, the former home of the last adult bathhouse in Minneapolis, which was known as the Locker Room Baths and later the 315 Health Club. However, the signing was moved inside due to rain.
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Council members Jason Chavez and Elliott Payne made remarks, along with Kat Rohn, the executive director of OutFront Minnesota.
Dylan Boyer, a member of the steering committee for the Safer Sex Spaces Coalition and the development director of the Aliveness Project, told MPR News the bill signing was a “huge day,” and he feels grateful for the support of the city.
“Now the real work begins taking the necessary steps to build a bathhouse,” Boyer said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside the council and mayor's office to ensure public health funding and strategies are a foundational pillar of future bathhouses in Minneapolis.”
Karri Joe Plowman, the founder of Twin Cities Leather who worked on getting the bathhouse ban repealed in 2017, said the vote signals progress, but there’s still a way to go.
“I started working on this issue because I was worried about my queer community's safety. This is a great first step toward making that happen,” he said.
The next step is the council working with staff for zoning, planning and regulation components to create a framework for an adult bathhouse. Any proposed ordinances to establish a framework for licensing adult bathhouses would again go in front of the council for feedback, public hearings and votes.
But for now, those in favor plan to take some time to celebrate and honor their work.
Plowman’s shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis kicked off Pride weekend with an announcement they were selling shirts to celebrate the ban being lifted by using archival photos and advertisements from the baths. The shirts are screen printed by Andy Furness, a local graphic designer.
