San Diego's Vulcan Steam and Sauna Closed

Great place. Love the Vulcan. Damn. Where am I going to have sex now?

I don't do the Internet for sex. You end up wasting so much time all night online--and you still don't hook up.

This is...illogical.

[quote]Fun, clean and in a safe area.

Anonymous sex is never "fun," "clean" or "safe." Try harder next time, dear.

"Great place. Love the Vulcan. Damn. Where am I going to have sex now?"

Gee, maybe you could try to meet people IN REAL LIFE? Not all of us are empty vessels seeking meaning at the latest fuckden.

MARY!!!!

:::Anonymous sex is never "fun," "clean" or "safe." Try harder next time, dear.:::

Let's see, once in San Diego for a conference I took a shower at the Vulcan with a businessman and we went back to his room where we massaged each other and jerked each other off. It was fun, clean and safe.

Another visit I spent an hour talking about books in the outdoor hot tub with a hairy chested married Marine officer who was one of the handsomest men I ever saw. We made out, sucked each other's cock, stroked ourselves off into each other's chest fur. Fun, clean and safe. We learned each other's first name's though, so maybe that makes a whole world of difference to you, r3?

I only visited those two times on two trips. I liked it a lot and have never forgotten that outdoor hot tub.

R5 probably had more sex in those two visits than r3 has had in two decades.

What are going to do with the nacreous layers of permacum? I need new countertops.

The permacum coated wood flooring of the sauna is being cut up into small blocks that will be sold as plaques to raise funds for an HRC banquet. There will special plaques autographed by Eric Nies as a memorial to the many hours he spent in their sauna when he hosted The Grind.

The closing of The Vulcan is the sad end of an era. Even if you didn't have sex, it was a great place to go and escape. You could walk around naked or semi-naked, watch porn or regular movies in the TV lounge, relax in the outdoor jacuzzi, lay out on the outdoor patio, etc. All fun, clean and safe--and social.

I will miss The Vulcan a lot. You could have sex or not and hang out with other gay men in a private place. It was a nice getaway. Yes, I'll miss going there.

And for all you naysayers, I remain STD and HIV-free after many years of visiting The Vulcan.

I'm still trying to figure out OP's assertion that this place that is no longer in business did not go out of business.

[quote]for up to 12 hours at a time

No way.

R10. OP here. The Vulcan didn't "go out of business," meaning that it didn't close due to lack of clientele or bankruptcy.

The owner (Frank) decided to sell the property. He owned it outright--and was a longtime owner and many people knew him. He's not elederly, but he just decided to pack it in. He also served on the Little Italy business association downtown where The Vulcan is located. The owner's original other partners/investors are no longer around. There were no gay bathhouse buyers. But the owner just decided to sell via a real estate sale.

Again, The Vulcan is located adjacent to Little Italy downtown. It's an area that has been revitalized and renovated in recent years. The land/property will probably be developed into condos, retail, restaurant, etc. So yes, techinically, The Vulcan is no longer in business. But it didn't die due to bankruptcy or mismanagement. The owner decided to sell for the reasons I've explained above.

Yes, R11. You could stay at the Vulcan for up to 12 hours per visit. And within that 12 hours, you could even leave for one hour to get something to eat at local restaurants and not have to pay another admission fee upon your return. Although there were vending machines on the premises if you needed a snack during your stay.

So, where else is there to go in SD for a sauna or hot men?

This is nonsense, OP/R12. There is some level of profitability at which the business would have been sold as an on-going concern, rather than as real estate. But it wasn't earning that amount, whatever it might be. So it was closed and the premises were put up for sale. It went out of business.

r15 = Contrary Mary.

You're not winning any semantics debate here, OP. If a business is no longer "in business," then it's "out of business."

R14 I think there's another bathhouse in Hillcrest.

The last gay bathhouse in San Diego: 'Club San Diego' on Fourth Avenue in Hillcrest. But it's nowhere as pleasant as The Vulcan, which will be sadly missed.

Please to come to Aqua Day Spa (Convoy St. in Clairemont) for happy good times.

Clean towel is extra charge!

Baths are so 70s. How revolting.

Eww, bathhouses are dying out like their patrons.

R20. Aqua Day Spa is not gay friendly any longer. Mr. Choi is always looking to catch guys playing. He's now removed a portion of the frosted glass in the relaxation room to more easily see if guys are stroking their cocks.

And he's removed the wood covering on the sauna window so now anyone can just see into the sauna. Mr. Choi has taken a nice relaxing place where the lowkey gay activity that went on was discrete and harmless. And he's turned Aqua Day Spa into an uncomfortable Big Brother. The Spa used to be a comfortable place for both gay and straight men to hang out together naked. But no longer.

I am boycotting Aqua Day Spa--as are other guys--and we will not be returning until privacy is restored. If things don't return to the way they were, then the Spa will be hurt financially.

R3, go to hell you ignorant judgmental turd. Seriously. What the fuck is wrong with you, you complete and total asshat?

Vulcan is closed?!?!?! I was going to visit for the first time earlier this month but was too busy while I was in San Diego! I'm pissed, where will I go to fuck some ass now?

R21, R22. Grow the fuck up.

There used to be a small place called Dave's in the Point Loma area that was popular with Marines and Navy guys. I think it closed a longtime ago.

There were usually a few Marines at Vulcan.

Where can I find horny, naked marines now? Other than in submarines. lolz

For some reason, I misread the topic as "The Vatican's Steam and Sauna Closed"

Interesting. The most recent reviewer on Yelp said that there was a rampant meth problem there. This is from Nov. '12. If true, I wonder if that played into the decision to sell. Maybe the owner got tired of dealing with it.

It must have been an incredibly furtive life for gays back then in 60s and 70s, scurrying off in the dark to bath houses to find companionship. It all seems so dark and dirty now in the light of 2013. Did you elders ever imagine the world would change this way so quickly?

Bath-houses were fun. You youngsters don't know what you're missing.

R31. Drugs were not a problem at the Vulcan. I was there plenty; they weren't an issue. That comment on Yelp may have just been anecdotal pertaining to an incident or two that may have happened and which can happen anywhere. One of the issues with the owner was maintenance and upkeep of the place. The Vulcan was quite well maintained, but there are always things that need tending for a business that operates 24/7, e.g., plumbing issues, jacuzzi, patio, carpeting, etc.

The owner and his staff did a great job keeping the place running for 39 years. But the owner was getting older, and he decided to wind down and take it easy. And when the real estate agent came with an offer to sell the property, the owner decided to call it a day--and the end of an era.

One of the difficulties nowadays is that the city of San Diego is reluctant to grant permits for a new gay bathhouse to be built in another location (there is still Club San Diego in Hillcrest) due to neighborhood zoning and downtown becoming a more desirable place to live, work and go to school. It's too bad. The Vulcan was a San Diego institution for the gay community. The owner was well liked and respected and continues to serve on the Little Italy Business Association, the location of The Vulcan.

R32, R33...Say what you want about bathhouses. You don't know what you're missing. They can be fun. They can help provide a little geataway for a couple of hours sex or no sex. And as long as you play safely, you'll be fine and safe.

I like the Internet as much as anyone, but you meet jack shit sitting on the computer all night. At a bathhouse you actually meet a real live person--and it doesn't take all night.

[quote]Where can I find horny, naked marines now? Other than in submarines. lolz

You won't find marines in submarines.

No huge shock.

I mean it got blown up in the last movie.

The last time I went to Vulcan was in 03 or 04. Back then it was a run down business where it seemed to be a health hazard just to look at the interior. Everything was stained and grimey. And the guys were usually beyond fifty with big bellies. It was the go to place if you were into daddies and bears. Did that change since then?

Now, now, R38, that's what these people think is hot. Who are we to argue? It is simply unfortunate that their revelry was accompanied by bouts of ringworm.

R38...The Vulcan was not run down. It was well maintained. It wasn't brand new, but it was in good shape and clean--and no, it wasn't stained and grimey in the least. The crowd ran the gamut from young to older.

I want a bathhouse revival all over the country. You can't meet anyone on the goddamn Internet.

[quote]Vulcan was not run down. It was well maintained.

Agreed. Now Cardassia Prime, OTOH, was a real shithole!

Bathouses? never understood the appeal. What we need is more college glory holes.

Could you explain yourself r44? Because that makes no sense.

I too have been going to vulcan for years now. And i too had many a fun time. Sometimes it was with sex, others it as just talking openly with other men about gay, bi or other issues intelligently. I always practiced safe sex and never caught even a sniffle. I hope the old owner will try to open a new location somewhere. Club san diego not only is nowhere near the nice atmosphere as vulcan. the parking is ridiculously bad during the day. and located in the heart of hillcrest, so during pride week it is even worse.

I suspect the Andorians are behind this.

So I went there before. The last time was over a year ago. I'm 28 now and I was the hottest guy there. And....I rate myself at a firm 6. I will say that it was clean and not disgusting. I had gone, I think 4 times ever, and there was only once that there was someone better looking.

Club SD makes me want to puke. This place doesn't appeal to me because I dont do meth which seems to be a big problem there. I over heard a guy say that he couldn't get it up because he was tweeking too hard.

Aqua Day Spa is not meant for sex. I heard someone say that they wanted more privacy to fuck in but that isn't what the point of that place is. Some people just get away with it.

Vulcan: Fat, Old, Fairly unattractive peeps ClubSD: A Tweeker Shit hole. Aqua Day Spa: Non-sexual bath house.

I shouldn't talk because I have been to these locations, but maybe peeps should try to fuck in such a desperate manner. I mean at Club SD you genuinely feel like you may have caught something. So maybe get out in the real world make a friend. Or you can just go to CL like the rest of them.

I worked at the Vulcan in the later part of the 90s. It was a great opportunity and experience working there as I met so many nice people. Frank and Rich were good guys. I will never forget. -paul

Back in the mid 70's I was stationed in Riverside area and would come to San Diego for fun weekends - the Vulcan was always on the list. Transferred over the years but always stopped at the Vulcan when in the area - enjoyed relaxing there, meeting people and just a good experience. Always the first stop from the airport - hot tub and sauna for tired muscles.

Will be in San Diego in Jan - will miss the stop with it being closed. Was in the Hillcrest place several times over the years and never liked for some reason. Always hoped it would get better.

Vulcan gone, another passing in time.

Haven't been to one in a few years but for me and then in Europe mostly, bath houses were an extraordinary experience.

In the good ones, how luxurious places they were - gleamingly clean, friendly and sex-friendly, luxurious places to socialize and fuck.

Cafeterias, bars, gyms, saunas, steam rooms, sundecks, jacuzzis, swimming pools, live music and shows, porn, live sex shows, rooms, mazes, safe sex teach-ins, and your pick of men... the good ones had them all.

I wonder if any such spaces for indulgent hedonism have existed since Imperial Rome.

Grindr is a sad, isolating come-down.

TOO SAD I LOVED the Vulcan, even though some guy stuck his big toe up my ass in the jacuzzi.

I want to add my regret that the Vulcan has closed. I am now in my 40s, but I went every time I was in San Diego for many years. Though I am older, I alway for some reason found young guys to play with. I was just thinking of making a trip down from Portland specifically to go to the Vulcan. Very sorry to read that it's closed.

Was the entrance guarded by T'Pau, carried in on a litter by musclemen wearing helmets? if you complained about the steam, would she intone magisterially, "The air is the air"?

KROIKA!

I've just found out about this. Well, it's the end of an era. I moved away from the San Diego area in 1995, but I had some great times as a twentysomething, gay man at the Vulcan.

I have a mental image of these "new gays" who find many of our most unique and fun activities repugnant, how they look and sound, and it isn't good at all.

You need to show less effort if you're going to try out the condescending card, r57. Keep practicing.

The Vulcan was "safe" for me and my deformed T-cells that will not let HIV attatch to them. But then the Club SD on 4th ave. is just as safe, and I have had BB sex with countless beautiful men there, even one who looked EXACTLY like Mario Lopez. There was one who I know was not Brad Pitt, because he had a much better body !

If anyone needs a Vulcan steam cleaning, it's a Cardassian. What slobs.

A frequent visitor to The Vulcan (1987-1995), with a few trips while I was visiting in San Diego. I will never forget it.

Kroika!!

I still miss The Vulcan. Nice, peaceful place to get away from it all to relax, have sex, chat, socialize or just plain escape from the world. Well-maintained, clean and safe, The Vulcan filled a void instead of online bullshit which is a waste of time.

The Vulcan building, gutted and remodeled inside, in downtown San Diego remains vacant after being closed for seven years. Bring back The Vulcan!!

This is such a shame that were losing culturally important establishments like this.

Surely, there must be local or national funds available to preserve such important sites like this for future generations?

R64. Don't knock it if you never visited the Vulcan.

I still have my complimentary T-shirt from the Vulcan the last night it closed: Wed April 17, 2013. Sad night. Big loss for San Diego.

R65 I've supported many bath houses and saunas around the world over my time.

I think it's such a shame when they close down. I do hope one is preserved as a museum or something.

They're alive and well in many other countries, esp. Europe. They are full flown bars where gay men legitimately go to socialize.

Can't wait for the world to open up again.

The only gay men on apps these days are woke millennial nonbinaries or the perpetual online window shoppers.

It will be interesting to see which of them survive this pandemic. In European, Asian and Latin countries, they've been staples of social connectivity going way back. In the US, the Steamworks franchise will likely get back to life. Any updates on the numerous FLEX properties?