Imagine a health club where the emphasis is on feeling good rather than looking good, where patrons seek relaxation over exhaustion and where the club’s cafe eschews ascetic spa fare for honking pastrami sandwiches and cold beer.
Imagine that health club, in all of its no-frills simplicity, thriving in one of the city’s trendiest neighborhoods.
The Division Street Russian and Turkish Baths offers just such a throwback style. And that’s probably why–even as health fads have come and gone–this venerable house of heat and steam has remained a Chicago staple for more 100 years.
Opened for business in 1906, the two-story, brick-and-stone bathhouse spent much of its centennial year closed and under renovation that continues partially today.
In November, however, the historic palace of perspiration quietly reopened the doors to its men’s facilities. Its lunch counter, known for its simple hearty menu, was scheduled to start serving this week. And next month, the owners hope to have the women’s facilities (which in recent years were unsuccessfully refashioned as a fancy European spa) up and running as a similar sister operation once again.
While Division is the oldest of Chicago’s steam chambers, it’s not the only place in town where you can pay a nominal fee to disappear into a hot fog for a few hours of relaxation, perspiration and detoxification. Some, like this one, were developed by the city’s diverse immigrant groups to recreate communal bathhouse traditions of their home countries.
The Division Street bathhouse is not for everyone–its appeal lies more in its Old World simplicity than in trendy body treatments. People simply come for the heat–a heat generated with gas, flames and huge granite boulders that are occasionally doused with water.
On a typical visit, one moves between the hot room or steam room and the cold showers or cold pool. Start with a shower to rinse off. Follow that with a visit to the hot room (called “the oven”), where you sit on your towel. Splash with some cold water from the spigots installed in the tiers of benches.
Stay until it becomes a bit uncomfortable, then go for a dip in the cold pool or shower. Relax a bit then return to the hot room. Repeat the process as many times as you wish then finish up with a lounge and a meal in the lunchroom.
Enjoying that heat on a recent Friday evening was Jesus Mendoza, 35, who said he also appreciated the camaraderie that develops among longtime patrons.
“Two things I love about this place,” he said. “The oven, with the heat from the granite stones. I like it as hot as possible. That’s what makes this place unique. And No. 2 is the friendship. After 15 years, nothing but friendship. You pay $20 and stay as long as you want.”
Mendoza mentioned that he’d seen his share of famous bathhouse devotees–politicians, mobsters, actors and writers–but suggested that the bathhouse had a way of leveling things. “No matter who’s here, we don’t discuss politics. Everybody’s naked.”
The bathhouse renovations, which will introduce more common areas for men and women, may require some covering up, thought the steam and bath facilities will remain single-sex.
During a recent visit to the unassuming gray building in the middle of a bustling stretch of Division Street, workers were still finishing the kitchen. Progress on the women’s facilities had been stalled, but co-owner Joe Colucci and Murad Sweiss cautiously predicted a late-winter opening for that portion of the bathhouse, which consists of a large two-tiered hot room and spacious steam room. They also hope to have hot and cold pools in the women’s area.
The bathhouse has been in the Colucci family since 1974, when Joe’s father, Joseph Colucci Sr., bought it from the previous owner’s widow. The younger Colucci, 39 and a former commodities trader, remembers going for his first visit when he was 11. He took over the business when his father died suddenly of a heart attack in 2000. In 2006, Sweiss, who also runs an Internet lending company, bought a principle share in the business and went into partnership with Colucci. Together they have been working on the renovation, which has not moved as quickly as they’d hoped.
But with the men’s side now open again, word of mouth is spreading among regular visitors who have returned to find the familiar rustic chambers spiffed up with a good scrubbing, new tiles, fresh paint and new flooring.
Alex Meltin,who said he’s visited about once a week for a decade, likes the changes. “I think it’s a great place ever since the remodeling. It’s really taking shape. [In the past,] you’d come in and it would remind you of the ’30s or ’40s era. But it’s nice to see the TVs.”
Greg Winbush, 56, said “the rustic-ness was nice, but this renovation is great. The best thing, though, is the friendship.”
The switch to more areas where men and women can linger together, such as the lunchroom and a planned hair salon, doesn’t faze the regulars.
“That’s no problem, as long as we can have our privacy downstairs in the oven,” Winbush said.
The lunchroom, now decorated with elegant Tiffany-style fixtures overhead, plasma TVs and deep lounging furniture, will no longer be full of guys dressed towels and flip flops munching on pastrami sandwiches. In its new incarnation, Colucci says, most people will at least be wearing robes.
Even if the lunchroom clientele is in for a change, though, Sweiss assured that the menu is not. David Flores, chef for the last six years, has stayed on and kept the recipes intact.
“His menu still has the same dishes,” he said, checking them off. “The famous corned-beef sandwiches, pastrami sandwiches, pickled tomatoes, smoked fish, homemade chicken soup and salad.”
Sweiss said they still put one-fourth of a chicken in every bowl of soup, and the beloved bathhouse salad dressing (made with vinegar, olive oil, whole garlic, oregano and lime) has remained unchanged.
“Some people used to come in just to buy the salad dressing,” recalled Colucci.
Other changes coming to the bathhouse late this winter include opening what Sweiss calls “an old school” co-ed barber shop where he said they will offer $10 haircuts for men and women and $10 manicures and pedicures.
“We want to keep it affordable for the neighborhood, which is still pretty middle-income with lots of artists,” Sweiss added. “This is still not the Gold Coast.”
Colucci said the clientele is still made up largely of older Eastern European and Hispanic men. “But we want to attract some of the younger people here too,” he said.
Sweiss agrees that with the renovation they are hoping to attract a wider clientele. “We want this to be a place where people don’t just come with a friend occasionally,” he says. “We want people to see this as a great place for a group to have a birthday party–even a bachelorette party.”
Division Street Russian and Turkish Baths
1914 W. Division St.; 773-384-9671 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
All-day admission $20 for men, $10 for women. Massages start at $30 for 30 minutes.
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Need a good steam cleaning?
Paradise Sauna
2912 W. Montrose Ave.; 773-588-3304
Hours: 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Sat; 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.
Cost: $18 for all-day visit
Description: A Korean-style bathhouse for men and women aimed at hydration, exfoliation and relaxation.
Vibe: Businesslike and functional with stern warnings on the wall against bringing food into the bathing area or engaging in sexual activity.
Dress code: Cotton robes in the lounge and dressing areas and nudity everywhere else.
How does it work: Visitors check in at the front desk and pay $18 for two towels, a thin cotton robe and a locker key.
Bathers change into their robe and flip-flops if they have them (you can also request them). The bathing area features a hot pool, cold pool, steam and sauna along with showers on the edges of the pools.
Start with a shower then move on to the hot tub, then steam or sauna then cold pool to close the pores. Many repeat the circuit while others punctuate it with self-exfoliation (by bringing their own scrub cloth), co-exfoliation with a pal or body-scrub service. For the body-scrub service, at an extra cost, an attendant scrubs off all of your dirt and dead skin cells on a table in the middle of the bathing area; this is a lot less painful and humiliating than it sounds.
After bathing, most folks retire to the quiet lounge chairs in the relaxation room for a nap.
What to bring: Bottle of water, flip-flops and an exfoliating cloth are a good idea. Some bring snacks to eat at locker-room tables. But there is a Korean/Japanese restaurant in the complex.
Clientele: On the women’s side, there are many Korean women but also some younger adventurous spa-going ladies from all races and walks of life.
Best part about it: Aside from the great relaxation, a trip to the baths (at least on the women’s side) can feel like a trip to another part of the world.
Worst part about it: If you don’t speak Korean, you may have trouble asking complicated questions of the staff or understanding everything your exfoliator is saying during your scrub.
Extras: Massage cost $60 for 60 minutes; exfoliation costs $30-$60 for 30 to 60 minutes.
Thousand Waves Spa
1212 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-549-0700, thousandwavesspa.com
Hours: Noon-9 p.m. Tues.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat and Sun.
Cost: Three-hour admission is $20
Description: A women-only communal spa bath with Japanese-style amenities and art.
Vibe: Crunchy and New-Agey with faint patchouli scents and gentle flute music floating through the air.
Dress code: Thin cotton robes in the lounge and at dressing tables; your birthday suit everywhere else. Although the brochures say that visitors have the option of wearing a bathing suit, in three visits I’ve never seen one.
How it works: Visitors check in at the front desk; if there is space available they pay $20, leave an ID or keys as a deposit and receive a locker key, towels and a cotton robe. Bath-goers then leave their shoes on a mat in the hall, slip on some black plastic slippers and continue to the locker room that is a few steps below the hall. Women take off their clothes, place them in the locker and proceed to the “spa” area for a shower.
Management recommends starting with the redwood sauna, as it is the least hot. In the sauna, you sit on a small towel.
Next comes a plunge in the hot tub followed by a visit to the steam room. Proprietors suggest following the steam room with a cold rain shower located in the shower area just off the steam room. Many people repeat this cycle two or three times, with visits to the relaxation room afterwards or in between.
The relaxation room is located downstairs from the spa and features tinkling new-age music, several lounge chairs and four cots in semi-private alcoves. Magazines, herbal tea and water are all available gratis.
What to bring: Bottle of water.
Clientele: Women in their 20s and older. Lots of comfortable shoes and clogs in the hallway where you take off your shoes.
Best part about it: It’s almost impossible not to relax in this tranquil oasis where even the hair dryers are quiet and soothing. Even if you can’t stay a whole three hours, it’s a great stop for some power relaxation.
Worst part about it: The facilities are small as these places go. You could fit the whole sauna, steam room, whirlpool and shower setup in the Paradise women’s side about three times over. Consequently, management has to limit the number of people and entry is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Extras: Massages, spa services and wraps are also available. Massages cost $50-$115 for 30-90 minutes.
O’Hare Hilton Athletic Club Chicago
Interstate I-90 and O’Hare International Airport
773-601-1723
4:30-11 p.m. Mon.-Thu.; 4:30-10 p.m. Fri.; 6-10 p.m. Sat.-Sun.
Cost: $11 for all day
Description: An extensive hotel health club with pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna and gym, open to anyone who stops in for a visit.
Vibe: Bright, modern and busy; full of travelers looking for a quick intense workout. Many serious runners on the tread mills.
Dress code: Bathing suits in the pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room.
How does it work: Visitors check in at the front desk and pay $11 per person for two towels and a key. The locker rooms have big wood paneled lockers that could fit a small suitcase, jacket, purse and more.
Change into your bathing suit or workout clothes and you can use the facilities as you wish. But those looking for the steam-spa experience can simulate it with a shower followed by a dip in the hot tub, followed by a trip to the steam or sauna rooms located off the front desk area then finished with a plunge in the coolish swimming pool. There are no special lounging areas, but one can relax on the chairs located around the pool. Drinks and some clothing are sold in the club lobby.
What to bring: Bottle of water and flip-flops and a robe if you want to wear it while traipsing through public areas between the pool and steam room.
Clientele: Business travelers. Although we saw no families, there are some swim toys in a bin next to the pool.
Best part about it: For those whose flight is delayed or for Chicagoans who just want to take a mini-vacation by CTA, it makes for a great refreshing escape. If you want to drive, valet parking costs $8 per hour.
Worst part about it: No downside that I can see.
Extras: Massages cost $50-$100 for 30-60 minutes.
–M.E.
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meng@tribune.com
