But in 2017, the operators of Flex feel comfortable enough to remind all passers-by that, amid the construction that continues to re-make Midtown, there remains a bathhouse open and operating on 4th Street, where gay men meet to have easy, anonymous sex. Though modest in appearance, the sign is bold visibility for a location that has preferred to operate incognito for most of its lengthy history, a discretion that helped it survive a puritanical purge in the 1970s, plague in the 1980s and gentrification in the 1990s and 2000s. Beside a westward-pointing arrow, the banner reads, “FLEX, 76 4th Street NW, WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS.” It’s a sign that is seen every day by nearby Georgia Tech students and Midtown professionals, yet it is an announcement aimed at, and understood by, a select few. The most notable symbol of progress that LGBT Atlanta has made over the past half-decade may not be the vibrant rainbow crosswalks that encircle the intersection of 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue, but rather a black-and-white banner tied to a construction site fence on the corner of 4th and Spring streets.
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