Plato's Retreat

Plato's Retreat was a sex club in New York City, owned first by Larry Levenson, and later by Fred J. Lincoln, that catered to heterosexual couples.

History

The club opened in 1977, and was popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The club was located in the basement of the Ansonia Hotel, an ornate 19th century building on the corner of Broadway and West 73rd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Prior to Plato's Retreat, the building housed the Continental Baths, a famous gay bathhouse. [cite web|url=http://cooperator.com/articles/1200/1/Inside-the-Ansonia/Page1.html |title=Inside the Ansonia |first=Mary K. |last=Fons |work=The Cooperator |year=2005 |month=September |accessdate=2007-12-02 ] Plato's relocated to 509 West 34th Street in 1980.cite web |url=http://www.disco-disco.com/clubs/other-clubs.shtml |title=Other Legendary Clubs |work=Disco-Disco.com |accessdate=2007-12-02]

Plato's Retreat required a paid membership and members were required to follow the club's set rules. Only couples were allowed to enter the premise and drugs were not allowed (though they were frequently used despite the rule). The club housed a disco dance floor, an inhouse DJ, sauna rooms, and a swimming pool with waterfalls. No liquor was served in the club.

During its heyday, Plato's Retreat was considered the world's most famous sex club and was popular with many celebrities as well as well-to-do couples. The clientèle was described as "an assortment of kinky types from the suburbs: dry cleaners and their wives or fat men in toupees with their heavily made-up girlfriends." [cite book |last=Gaines |first=Steven |title=The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan |year=2005 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=New York |isbn=0-316-60851-3 |page=197]

Despite his overall pro-gay-rights stance, in 1985 NYC Mayor Ed Koch backed the New York City Health Department's decision to shut down the city's gay bathhouses in response to concerns over the spread of AIDS. However, in shutting down the gay bathhouses while allowing the heterosexual sex clubs - most notably Plato's Retreat - to remain open, the city found itself in a dilemma when it realized such action would be a violation of the newly-adopted anti-discrimination law. The Health Department, with Koch's approval, reacted by ordering the heterosexual clubs, including Plato's Retreat, to close as well.The club's NYC location was finally shut down on New Year's Eve, 1985 by the city of New York for violating public health ordinances. [cite news |last=Golubski| first=Suzanne |coauthors=Kappstatter, Bob |work=Daily News |title=Swinging doors shut: City probe KO's Plato's | url=http://www.wmob.com/artpages/platos1.html |accessdate=2007-11-08]

Plato's Retreat relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where it reopened under the new name Plato's Retreat 2. Located at 321 West Sunrise, the new location was in operation as an on-premise swing club until 2006. The heterosexual sex club was open Monday-Sunday from 8 p.m. until the last person left. Saturday night was for couples only. Plato's Retreat Fort Lauderdale was a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) Club. No liquor was sold on the premises. However, it provided complimentary mixers, soft drinks, juices and ice.

In 2006 Plato's Retreat closed, and then reopened keeping the same location and BYOB Club format, but as a sex club for men only. The club is currently operated under the business name Plato's Retreat 2 / The Slammer.

ee also

* Continental Baths
* Ansonia Hotel
* Swinging
* Swing club
* Exhibitionism

References