The Fairoaks Project – San Francisco Bathhouse Pictures From 1970s

The Fairoaks Project - San Francisco Bathhouse Pictures From 1970s
The Fairoaks Project - San Francisco Bathhouse Pictures From 1970s

The Fairoaks Project is a bold and unapologetic celebration of gay male sexual culture featuring Polaroids taken at The Fairoaks Hotel in San Francisco by Frank Melleno in the spring and summer of 1978.

In celebration of Gay Pride Month, drkrm/gallery proudly presents an extraordinary, never-before-seen glimpse into pre-AIDS gay sexual culture. The Fairoaks Project is an exhibit of Polaroid bathhouse pictures taken by Frank Melleno during the spring and summer of 1978 at The Fairoaks Hotel, a San Francisco bathhouse.

Situated in a refurbished Victorian building near a black ghetto, The Fairoaks was known for its laid-back and racially integrated ambiance. Bold and unapologetic, Melleno’s images capture an aspect of gay life rarely seen in snapshot photography: sexually candid encounters that are playful, spontaneous and often affectionate. The dark storm of drug abuse and pandemic disease that would soon overtake the community is not visible in these celebratory pictures.

The exhibit runs from June 12th – 27th, 2010. If you can’t make it, A limited-edition book of photographs from the exhibit, with an introduction by Mark Thompson, is available for purchase through the drkrm/gallery website. These pics are great!

The Fairoaks Project is now on Facebook. Check it out here.

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