The name Caldron, according to owner Gilman, was the I Ching's commentary on itself. A poster announcing its First Anniversary Orgy has been preserved. The Caldron featured thematic nights: Tuesdays were for water sports, Thursday for fisting it also set aside nights for masturbation. There were tables and benches for having sex on, and slings. The club had two bathtubs for those who wanted to be urinated on. The owners were Hal Slate and Stephen Gilman. It was described as 'exemplary' as one of the first venues to promote safe sex as the AIDS crisis hit.
Like other similar venues, it had no alcohol license patrons brought their own alcohol, usually beer, and this was stored in a cooler and patrons given chits that they could turn in for a can of the brand of beer they had brought. Patrons were required to be naked except for footwear a clothes check was provided. Located in a converted warehouse, the site was unabashedly a place where men went to have sex. It was called 'the epitome of the uninhibited, abandoned, 'sleazy' sex club.' Description
area, was a gay sex club which opened in 1980 and closed in 1984. The Caldron (often misspelled Cauldron), at 853 Natoma Street in San Francisco, in the South of Market St.
