Plato's Retreat

Plato's Retreat was a swingers' club in Manhattan that was first owned by Larry Levenson and later by Fred J. Lincoln; the club catered to heterosexual couples and bisexual women.HistoryThe club was opened in 1977 by Larry Levenson, a high school friend of Al Goldstein, and was popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was first located in the basement of the somewhat rundown Kenmore Hotel on East 23rd Street between Lexington and Third Avenues before moving to 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 gay bathhouse where Bette Midler provided musical entertainment early in her career. Plato's relocated to 509 West 34th Street in 1980.Plato's Retreat was a members-only establishment that required everyone to follow the club's numerous rules. Levenson was determined not to permit his nightspot to become infiltrated by male homosexuals, and he insisted that only straight couples - and women, escorted or otherwise - be allowed to enter the premises. Once a woman left a room after a sexual encounter, her male companion had to accompany her. This rule was intended to ensure that women nearly always outnumbered men - Levenson strictly prohibited sexual activity between males but welcomed lesbians. Drugs, including alcohol, were not allowed, though they were frequently used despite the rule. The club had a disco dance floor, an in-house DJ, sauna rooms, and a swimming pool with waterfalls.