“The Tubs,” as they were affectionately nicknamed, were a vital, sexually-liberating alternative to the bar scene during the pre- and post-Stonewall period. At its peak, the Baths had 400 private rooms and 2,000 lockers serving up to 10,000 diverse gay male patrons a week, some who would stay for an entire weekend. Another large space, referred to as the Orgy Room, was designed as a Roman amphitheater with carpeted risers on the four walls. One large room was transformed into a labyrinth with black marble for cruising. Ostrow retained interior designer Richard Ohrbach to oversee this expansion and Ohrbach covered the columns with mirror and glass and painted the walls in psychedelic colors.
Over time, Ostrow added a cabaret and stage, restaurant, gym, licensed bar, STD clinic, clothing boutique, travel desk, and roof sun deck (via a separate elevator) with sand from Riis Beach. When it first opened on September 12, 1968, it contained 50 rooms and 200 lockers and operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Ostrow initially created a space that he advertised as the recreation of the “glory of Ancient Rome.” It featured a disco dance floor, pool with cascading waterfall, sauna rooms, bunk beds in public areas, and small private rooms. Ostrow predicted that his new venture would draw patrons away from other locations such as the well-established Everard Baths. In 1968, he leased the vacant 40,000-square-foot, multi-level basement space of the once lavish Ansonia Hotel (then rental apartments), which previously housed its Turkish Baths and swimming pool area. At the time, homosexuality was illegal and most New York City LGBT bars were operated by the Mafia. In the late 1960s, Steve Ostrow, an entrepreneur and former opera singer, wanted to elevate the gay bathhouse experience from what were then seedy spaces to an enhanced destination as a healthclub and spa.