Steam and Steak: Ladies' Night at the Schvitz

The Schvitz offered a kind of restoration that beats anything offered today.

In the late 1960s and early '70s, when my sister, Vicky, or I came down with a bad cold, my father had an unconventional cure: He would drop us off at the, better known to Clevelanders as the Schvitz. It was a men-only institution every day of the week except Wednesday, which was Ladies' Night.

Vicky and I checked in, stripped down, stowed our clothes in lockers, and wrapped ourselves in the signature Schvitz uniform: a plain white sheet. Then came the main event - the steam room - which at Cleveland's Schvitz was bui...