Photographer: Gail S. Goodman, 1992
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The above photo is the facade of the New St. Mark's Baths in NYC, as shown in OUT Magazine 1994. This is the only image in this gallery which was not taken by Gail S. Goodman. |
| These comments were provided by Gail S. Goodman for this website. The webmaster of this site asked her to provide an introduction to her work and to provide comments about each photograph presented here with regards to facts such as photo location, things she encountered at the facility and her thoughts about each photo during her visit. |
| The New Saint Marks Baths was impeccably clean except for a pile of clothes some transvestites, who took up camp there, left behind. They found a way to sneak in even though the door was locked. You could get to the roof top from the building next door, and there was at least one broken window that allowed entry. There were no drug paraphernalia or bottles of poppers around. Unfortunately, the cubicles and the cubicle doors had been removed before I gained entry and photographed the place. Based on floor markings I could see that the cubicles were large. As soon as I entered the baths there was a feeling in the air that it was a unique place…a place that was very special. This uniqueness was affirmed by Jonathan (who showed me around the baths) because he once stopped midsentence to pick up a broken wall tile and then attempted to jiggle it back into place even though the baths had been closed for 7 years, since 1985. Of course, nobody was going to see the broken tile, but it was his way of showing respect to something that was once great. I felt oddly connected to the place. Gail S. Goodman, December 2008. |
---PLEASE CLICK ON THE THUMBS TO SEE FULL SIZE IMAGES---
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Sometime in the near future Gail S. Goodman will present an exhibit of an
assortment of photos that were taken in 1992 inside the New St.
Mark’s Baths. The exhibition will include an original set of keys
taken from the baths and original signs/poster that were also
removed from the premises. The exhibition date has not yet been set,
but interested parties can contact Gail at zgailgoodman@yahoo.com
for questions. The exhibition will be held at Leslie/Lohman Gay Art
Foundation 26 Wooster Street NEW York City 10013 between Grand and
Canal Phone (212) 431-2609 www.leslielohman.org |
Special thanks to Gail S. Goodman for her photographic contribution to this website. All the photographs on this page were taken by her during a 1992 visit to the New St. Mark's Baths facility as it lay desolate and closed following a 1985 order to cease operations by the Health Department of the City of New York. |
