Club Toronto/Oasis Aqualounge
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Photograph of the Oasis Aqualounge (formerly known as Club Toronto) building at 231 Mutual St. in May 1981.
Previously known as Club Toronto and now called Oasis Aqualounge, the building at 231 Mutual Street might look like just another brick building, but its walls have witnessed some of the most infamous moments of police persecution in Toronto’s queer history.
Two Metro Toronto police offers standing outside of Club Toronto before raiding the bathhouse.
Twice, this site was raided by police—once in 1981, during the infamous Bathhouse Raids, and again in 2000, during the controversial raid on the Pussy Palace, a women’s and trans-inclusive bathhouse event. These events galvanized the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, sparking resistance, legal battles, and changes in policy that continue to shape queer rights today.
On February 5, 1981, the Toronto police launched Operation Soap, a coordinated attack on four gay bathhouses in the city. The police had been conducting undercover surveillance on these establishments for weeks.
Floorplans depicting where and how police harrassment took place.
Under the pretext of enforcing outdated “bawdy house” laws, officers stormed the spaces, arresting over 300 men—one of the largest mass arrests in Canadian history. At Club Toronto, the raid was particularly brutal. Men, some fully naked, were dragged into the street, beaten, and publicly humiliated. Many of those arrested had their names published in newspapers, outing them in a time when being gay would likely cost someone their job, their family, and their safety.
The raids were a tipping point. The very next day, thousands of protesters flooded the streets, condemning the police action. These protests weren’t just about gay rights but also about state violence, over-policing, and civil liberties, issues that resonated across marginalized communities.
One of the speakers at a major rally on February 20, 1981 was Lemonica Johnson, the widow of Albert Johnson, a Black Jamaican man who had been shot and killed by Toronto police in 1979. She drew direct parallels between the Bathhouse Raids and the systemic racial violence faced by Black communities, helping to forge important alliances between queer activists and Black liberation movements in Toronto.
The protest that took place after the February 1981 raids.
These protests helped lay the groundwork for what would become Toronto Pride, now one of the largest 2SLGBTQIA+ festivals in the world.
Almost 20 years later, police once again stormed 231 Mutual Street. This time, it was during Pussy Palace, a women’s and trans-inclusive bathhouse event that had been running since 1998.
The event was meant to be a safe space for queer women and trans people to explore sexuality without the male gaze, in an environment free from judgment and harassment.
On September 14, 2000, five male police officers entered the venue, citing concerns about liquor license violations. They took the names and addresses of attendees, invading their privacy and leaving them feeling violated.
Narrators from the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory project discuss their memories of the police invasion, the legal aftermath, the community's response, and the transformative impact of this collective wound.
The raid sparked outrage, as it became clear that the police had no legitimate reason to be there. The Toronto Women’s Bathhouse Committee fought back, raising funds for the Pussy Palace Defence Fund.
In 2002, a judge ruled that the police had violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, likening the officers’ presence to a strip search. The organizers were acquitted, and in 2005, a settlement awarded them $360,000, which they donated to 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations.
Today, Club Toronto has been transformed into Oasis Aqualounge, a sex-positive space that welcomes people of all genders and orientations.
A poster advertising Club Toronto.
Flyer for recruitment of members for the Pussy Palace.
Poster for a dance party in remembrance of the 1981 raids.
Poster to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the raids.