28 Photos of Gay Bathhouse History in Chicago

Artwork on the walls by Dom Orejudos, a.k.a. Etienne

Chicago lost a piece of gay history in 2018, when Man's Country, the city's oldest bathhouse, closed its doors after 44 years. 

The private club went out with flair, celebrating its last day with a 13-hour party that began on New Year's Eve 2017 and lasted into the next morning, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Uptown site was a backdrop to some of the biggest achievements and challenges faced by Chicago's LGBTQ community. Author and historian Owen Keehnen said the loss of Man's Country was "a gay version of seeing the house you grew up in torn down. It was everything. A place of sexual liberation, social ease with being gay and community building." The property was to be demolished to make way for condominiums.

Scroll down for a last look inside.