What is the history of Man's Country?

We opened 31 years ago in September as a bathhouse in the image of the Continental bathhouse in NY. We started with entertainment like Wayland Flowers and Madame. Wanda Lust was in charge of booking, with shows on Wed., Fri. and Sat., Sunday was Classical music night in the music hall. The idea was to have an entertainment complex with conversational areas, snack bars with food and a boutique.

What effect did the AIDS epidemic have on the Chicago Bathhouse scene?

The AIDS epidemic just about decimated the scene. I went to a leadership conference in Dallas, TX just as the epidemic broke. Bruce Boller founder of the National Gay Task Force was the leader of this conference and from his insight, I came back and decided to close glory holes and other sections of the bathhouse used for open sex and opened up the music hall into a bar knows as the Bistro II the bathhouse went from 50 employees to 5.

What did you do to bounce back?

The health Dept was going to close them but being ahead of the game by offering condoms and educating safe sex we were spared and now they are back open in full swing, with the music room, again as a show hall featuring male erotica.

What are your future plans?

My plans are to keep moving forward. I'm considering adding on an addition with more rooms, because rooms are sold out by 10 pm. So if you want rooms, reserve it, or come in early. We are always expanding; now, we're showing gay themed movies every night all night.

What would you tell someone who's never been to a bathhouse?

C'mon on in! It's not all about sex. It's about being comfortable. You can relax, see a movie, take in some steam, meet new friends; after all there are over 113,000 members, with lifetime memberships. There is no charge for memberships, we've got a friendly staff, we're open 24/7 except on Christmas Eve.