Famed ’70s bathhouse trailblazer Steve Ostrow dies at 91
A post shared by Fire Island Pines Historical Society (@fipines)Gay bathhouse impresario Steve Ostrow, the trailblazer who founded New York City’s iconic Continental Baths–the sex club and performance space that helped launch the careers of Bette Midler and Barry Manilow in the early ’70s–has died.
He was 91.Ostrow, who was bisexual, passed away on February 4th at a retirement home in Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.An entrepreneur and former opera singer, Ostrow opened the Continental Baths in 1968 in the basement of the previously lavish Ansonia Hotel, a Beaux-Arts landmark building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Steve Ostrow, Founder of Ansonia’s Continental Baths, Dies at 91 https://t.co/TrTyuD5FRE pic.twitter.com/tcHSyqKdiZAfter observing the crowds at other bathhouses, Ostrow wanted to elevate the scene from a seedy, rundown environment to a clean and extravagant wonderland where gay men could congregate more openly.This was a particularly bold idea pre-Stonewall as homosexuality was still illegal, most NYC gay bars were owned by the mafia, and police raids were commonplace.Ostrow transformed the Ansonia’s crumbling Turkish baths and broken-down pool into a Roman-themed pleasure palace with cascading waterfalls, saunas, public spaces with bunk beds, private rooms, and a disco dance floor.RIP Steve Ostrow, who ran the Continental Baths (1968-1976), and helped discover everyone from Bette Midler & Barry Manilow to Labelle, Melba Moore, Nell Carter & Wayland Flowers.
He died 2/4/24 at 91. https://t.co/Z87o2bLy76 pic.twitter.com/SIuoI7v4JNThe Continental Baths opened on September 12, 1968 with lines around the corner.
