Photo: Mario Jarjour (WBZ NewsRadio)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Temperatures can get rather cold during the winter, but you can still work up a sweat in a new pop-up public sauna in City Hall Plaza.
Run by CultureHouse and with support from the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, the Winter City Sauna turns up the heat for groups of six in 45-minute schvitz sessions. The site also has a food truck, games, and a seating area with heaters and bistro lights.
The sauna is free to use with a reservation and quite the hot commodity; spots were fully booked before it opened Friday. CultureHouse says they do get cancelations, so people should check their website.
"[We] could use it around here, especially with the cold lately," Alex told WBZ NewsRadio Sunday. "I’d jump in there after my shift."
Others are not so enthusiastic about the sauna's location.
"Having a sauna in the city would be nice, but just the one that’s in the trailer in the middle of City Hall is not appealing to me," said Kevin.
"Going in it would just be a little odd to me, but I do love a sauna, just not something that’s right in the middle of everything," added Karin.
A big concern is cleanliness, especially on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. CultureHouse says the sauna is cleaned daily and as needed throughout the day.
"If this is all they’re focusing on, it might actually be better than a gym one because they are actually cleaning it all the time," Stacy said. "Yeah, they have one bad case of someone getting sick or something gross, then they’re done, so it actually might be better that it’s so public."
CultureHouse says sauna users should arrive with a bathing suit under their clothing, two towels (one to sit on, the other to dry off with), sandals, and a full water bottle. They also ask not to wear any oils, lotions, or fragrances.
The Winter City Sauna is open Fridays to Sundays through March 3.
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok