Dr Angell's heating system for the

Lafayette Turkish baths, Lexington Avenue, New York

Dr E C Angell opened his establishment on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 25th Street, New York, in 1867. The original emphasis was therapeutic, with separate floors for men and women. The baths later became an iconic gay bath-house in the early 1900s. It was probably the setting for a series of Turkish bath paintings by the gay artist Charles Demuth, and in the 1930s was subject to several police raids. At one stage it was owned by George Gershwin's father.

The three hot rooms were kept at temperatures of 150ºF, 175ºF, and 212ºF in summer, with the hottest room being raised to 250ºF in the winter.¹ The rooms were heated by wrought iron radiators circulating water heated by the furnace in the basement.

Footnote

1. 'Turkish Baths'     Manufacturer and builder    (Aug 1877)