Mount Morris Baths - Steam & Turkish
Harlem, NYC-
taken April, 1997

This image was originally part of a collection I call Urban EdiGlyphs- which is also featured at the THE FADING AD GALLERY in Brooklyn.

This establishment has been around since the twenties. It had been frequented chiefly by African-American men. When gay bath houses were systematically closed during the eighties by the NYC Dept of Health - in their hasty response to the AIDS crisis, this one was overlooked. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Thanks to recent e-mails, it has come to my attention that since its recent closing, the Gay press has not made the same uproar as they have over the closing of the Wall Street Sauna. Mt. Morris had remained open until last year (2003) when it was closed by the NYC Buildings Dept. for structural problems. It was one of few establishments in that area that distributed safe-sex information and paraphernalia. It will be sorely missed.

Remember- the AIDS crisis is not over!  

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