Steamworks is a popular gay bathhouse in the Boystown area of the city. While the bathhouse is still well-known by local gay men (and even visiting gay men), it occasionally gets a bad rep. Certainly, two deaths in the establishment don’t help.
As GayPopBuzz reports, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has released info concerning two deaths that happened in the bathhouse last year.
First, the death of a 36-year-old man back in January 23, 2017 was shocking enough. But then there were suspicions and rumors of foul play being involved.
The man was found unresponsive in the bathhouse’s jacuzzi. He was then pronounced dead by 11:58 pm at the Illinois Masonic Hospital.
Now, the medical examiner says there was no sign of foul play such as drugs, alcohol, or the forced drowning by another person. Ultimately, it looks like the guy might have dozed off and sadly drowned to death.
As for the second death, it happened to a 31-year-old man. He was found unresponsive in a room that he’d ordered three hours before. This time, drugs were involved.
The Medical Examiner says that the man was influenced by crystal meth and was found unresponsive on Jully 11, 2017. Its suspected that he died of drug intoxication, which means his death also counts as an accident.
While both of these deaths were accidental, some locals are hesitant to return to Steamworks.
h/t: GayPopBuzz
Why are Bathhouse deaths never truly disclosed or investigated? Particularly as homophobia and bigotry are staples in heterosexual mainstream rationale and tend to capitalize on incidences that isolate, inclusively, gay men. This is very strange considering in Los Angeles, many deaths occur in bath houses and with Ed Buck unveiling that all overdoses aren’t accidental, each death needs to be investigated thoroughly.
Time to close down the gay
Time to close down the gay bathhouses. Unspeakable acts and anonymous unsafe sex went rampant in the dark rooms. Their usefulness has expired.