The Humboldt Steam Baths

Here's the true story of some of my first homosexual experiences, specifically those involving my trips to the local steam baths:

It was the early 80s and I was in my mid 20s living in Eureka, CA. I'd heard about the Humboldt Steam Baths in downtown Eureka and it seemed to be common knowledge around town that that's where all the homos hung out. I'd never been there but, being a closeted homosexual, it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to check that place out.

Thing was, you didn't want to be seen going into a place like that. Back then, homosexuality wasn't nearly as accepted as it is now. But, when I'd get to drinking, I'd often start thinking about the Steam Baths. I really had an itch to go there and see what they were all about. One early summer evening I'd drank just enough to get the homo in me going and lose the inhibition to head down there.

The first thing I did, to test the waters (and try to feel a little more at ease about going there), was call them on the phone. A guy answers the phone and I find myself almost trembling I was so nervous. I didn't really know what to say so I asked, "Are there lots of guys down there?". The guy hangs up on me. I think I wanted him to say something to make me feel more comfortable with my plan but he didn't. Only thing I could do now was just drive down there.

It was still light out and I was afraid somebody might see me go inside so I parked almost a block up the street. I was super nervous but I kept telling myself I really wanted to do this so just go for it! I walked around the corner to the front of the place, took a deep breath and went through the front door.

The front room in the place was a lounge/ bar and it was PACKED! Oh shit, did I get even more nervous. I couldn't even look to my sides. I just walked straight ahead up to the bar and told the guy I wanted a steam room, paid the fee, grabbed a beer and went down the hall to my room. Whew! That was almost scary.

I started drinking my beer and jacking off wondering what the point was in coming down here if I was jacking off alone? I rang the room service bell and almost immediately the male attendant came in and I ordered another beer. He didn't say a thing about me laying there jacking off. When he comes back and hands me my beer I said, "Feel free to help finish me off if you want". He bent over, put his lips around my cock and sucked me off to completion. I thanked him and he left the room. I dressed and left.

I went to my car as fast as I could, still not looking at any of the people in the front lounge as I left. I think I was nervous the whole night, even after getting home. I was so afraid someone might have seen me.

Next morning, as would be the case with so many of my homosexual encounters back then, I almost felt ashamed of what I'd done. Wondering if anybody saw me going into the place and, besides, I shouldn't be fagging off, anyway. I'm supposed to be finding a girl, getting married and having kids. What was I thinking last night? But those feelings didn't stop me for long.

After that, every time I'd get to drinking a bit, I'd start thinking about the Steam Baths. It wasn't long after that first visit I gathered up the courage to go there again but, this time I told myself, I'll at least try to mingle with the crowd and hopefully establish a few relationships. I decided to try and find a seat at the bar.

I felt just as nervous as the last time as I parked the car and scurried around the corner to the front door. It felt just like the last time walking in there and I was again too nervous to look at all the guys in the room. I just walked straight up to the bar and grabbed a seat between two not bad looking guys. I ordered a beer and we shared some small talk. One guy had hair almost to his shoulders and a short beard. I finally told him I was going to rent a steam room and, if he wanted, he could share it with me. He followed me to the room.

We go in there, take off our clothes and almost immediately start kissing and fondling each other. We lay down on the wood benches and carry on. Wasn't exactly the most comfortable place to get intimate with another guy, I'll have to say.

Back then I didn't know anything of the sexual lubricants like we have today. Best I could think of, and had used before, was Vasoline and I didn't even think to bring some along, stupid me. I got into position for him to put his cock in me but I was too dry. He didn't seem to know what to do about it, either. He just had the head of his cock pushing against my pussy and it wasn't going anywhere. Shame neither of us knew what to do. In hindsight, I should of called room service. I'm sure the guy that sucked me off before could of helped us.

But we didn't and we eventually gave up on it, kissed a little more and he ended up going home. As he left I asked him to send the other guy we were talking with in and shortly after he left, the other guy came in. We ended up just making out and talking about sex. We finally ended up jacking each other off and went our separate ways. I went home and never saw either of those two guys again.

Next morning, as usual, I'm doing the usual WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING LAST NIGHT? But, despite the botched attempts at intercourse and the day- after- guilt, I think I was starting to realize I was doing what I was meant to do.

A few weeks later, again after a few beers, I went down the the Steam Baths again. I don't know that I ever got over being nervous going in to that place and this time was no exception. The one difference this time was I ended up with one of the more memorable sex experiences in my life:

I walked in the front door and was surprised to see the place empty. I sat down at a table and Gene, the guy who worked there and sucked me off on my first visit came over. I ordered a beer. He got himself one and sat down across the table from me. After the usual pleasantries, I simply said "You know the only reason I come here is to get laid". He said, "Hold on a second", and walked down the hallway towards the rooms. He came back right away and asked me to follow him.

I was more than happy to but was surprised we went out the front door and headed to the house right next door. Turns out he lived there with his boyfriend. We enter the house and he says "We don't wear clothes in this house". I was cool with that and dropped mine along with his on the couch. Gene was a slim, taller guy with medium length brown- almost read- curly hair.

His boyfriend, whose name escapes me, came into the room. He was naked and I guess he knew what was going on whenever Gene brought someone home from the baths. I'm sure they'd done this many times with other lucky guys.

They motioned up the stairs and to the second floor we went. They had their bedroom up there and it seemed to be set up for group sex. They had 3 or 4 mattresses side- by- side. There was a table on one end with bottles of various things. I was to find out soon enough they were various ointments, including lubes, for man to man sex.

I started right away with Gene as soon as he sucked me into a full hard on. He laid down spread some lube on my cock and spread his legs. I slipped right inside of him (Wish we had that lube the last time I came to the Baths). We kissed and fucked until I came inside of him. Then I rolled over and it was his boyfriend's turn with me. I don't recall him being a kisser, though, which was about the only disappointment in the whole night.

After he blew his load in me I rolled over and did it again with Gene and then I'd roll over and his boyfriend did me again. It was awesome. We switched back and forth at least twice. It could of been 3 times. One of my life's greatest sexual moments.

Finally, after we were all sexed out, I got up and left. The next morning I believe there was a waking awareness in me that I absolutely loved sex with men, although I still didn't want anyone to know what I'd done, or that I was queer. As the next day wore on, I tried more and more to get that out of my mind. I'm not supposed to be queer. What if the people I work with hear my thoughts about this? I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THIS! THEY'LL FIND OUT SOMEHOW!

But I couldn't suppress my homosexuality for long. It was still that same summer when I went into the Baths for my last time. This time I went in the middle of the day and, as I recall, I wasn't drinking for a change. I actually wanted to go there sober, in the middle of the day. My plan was, hopefully, to go to the common steam room and see if I could get the whole room to fuck me. And I was sober. Might I have been coming to accept my homosexuality? I don't know.

So I walk in and I'm still nervous about someone seeing me there, but there's only one guy in the front lounge again. The place looks dead. Bummer. I hoped the common room has some guys in it. So, I pay to go into the main common steam room hoping to see maybe 10 guys that might want to do me but there's only two of them, and I actually recognize one of them

I was in the National Guard at the time (another reason I didn't want to get caught at this) and Bill was in the Guard, too, although a different unit. He was laying on one bench and some older guy sitting on another. I'd known Bill was queer as he'd seen me come into the Baths my first time, but I didn't see him as I was too nervous to look around the room that time. He tried to pick me up at our last Annual Training because he knew I was queer after seeing me at the Baths, but I ran from that one. Didn't want to get caught fagging off on a military base.

I move over and sit down next to Bill and he acknowledges me by getting the half boner he already had getting harder. I sit there for a while and eventually he seems to start cumming without even doing anything. I bend over to him and say "My God, man, you're cumming", in a rather joking manner. He says, "Don't be shy. Get down on it", at which point I slid my lips over his 8" cock (one of the nicest I've ever had the pleasure of) and sucked him off to completion.

He got up to leave after that, saying he had to go back to work, but said he wanted to see me again and that I should come up to his house sometime and he might even let me stick my dick in him. I ended up doing just that and we had sex together off and on for some years.

The other guy just sat there watching us as I was sucking off Bill. After Bill left, I asked the other guy, who looked to be in his 60s, if he wanted his dick sucked. He didn't say anything, but nodded indicating yes. I knelt down and sucked on him for probably five minutes, but he never got hard.

Erectile disfunction wasn't something people really knew about back then, but this guy apparently had it. I didn't know what the problem was and after about five minutes gave up and went home. I was feeling guilty the next day as usual for fagging off but, as usual, the guilt didn't last too long.

But that was the last time I went to the Steam Baths. Not sure if I was trying too hard to deny my homosexuality, or maybe other events led me away. It almost didn't matter because it wasn't much after that AIDs got into the news. When it became known that bathouses were a place were many were getting AIDS, most bathouses in the state shut down. Humboldt Steam Baths shut down within a week of the newspaper headlines about AIDS.

Looking back I wish I'd taken more advantage of the Baths while they were still here. Then again, what I wanted to do: Group sex and having large numbers of men have bareback sex with me, that might well of had me ending up with what I heard happen to Gene- the guy who gave me my first Steam Bath blowjob: AIDS. I heard from another queer guy some years ago that Gene was "very sick". In other words: He had AIDsS

I guess I lucked out by not spending more time at the baths if I look at it that way.