Dillon’s has been operating on Chestnut Street since 1885, which makes it the oldest steam bath in the United States and one of the very few surviving links to the bathhouse culture that once ran through every immigrant neighbourhood in the northeast. It is family-owned, and it has never been renovated into something fashionable.
Set expectations accordingly. This is a plain, old, working steam bath — not a spa. The rooms are hot, reportedly running past 200°F in the dry sauna, and the steam room has a reputation among people who take this seriously as one of the most powerful in the country. There is a dry sauna, a wet steam room, cold showers and a lounge for cooling down between rounds. Lockers are individual, towels are available, and disposable toiletries are on hand for anyone who arrives unprepared.
The platza is the thing to book. A sauna master works you over with oak and birch branches in the hot room — brutal, restorative, and the closest thing in New England to the treatment as it is given in Eastern Europe. An oil rub is offered alongside, and the two together make a full session.
The one detail that catches visitors out: Dillon’s runs primarily as a men’s club, with women’s hours historically limited to Mondays. That policy has shifted over the years, so call before making the trip. Chelsea’s waterfront neighbourhood is a short hop from downtown Boston, and the building is unremarkable enough that first-timers regularly walk past it.