"We are a queer space that is thriving with over 5,000 active members and are now being threatened of losing our space," says the owner of Night Spa.
2199 Gottingen has been a sex club of one kind or another since 2003; see the history below.
A February Chronicle Herald article (link below) asserts that that's about to change, and the current owner and clientele would like things not to.
This article will fill out with facts about the possible loss of Halifax's Night Spa which is beloved to some (and not so much to others) in the kinkster community and to some extent the overlapping gay community.
A link to Wayves' detailled 2024-03 article about the space, and the history of the space since 2003, is below.
Here's the link to the GoFundMe.
"Night spa has provided me and a friend with a comfortable queer friendly space to chill at. With Halifax being a relatively small urban area, it's likely I'll meet familiar friendly faces each time I go, and some new ones," wrote a client.
On March 19, Wayves conducted a survey of readers about the space. We got 99 responses; a little over half were a little, or a lot sad; under a third said they'd never heard of the place; 5% were angered, 15% said they didn't care or good riddance. Here are the comments that were left by the respondents; warning, some of them are quite unkind.
What are your thoughts? Do you have something to contribute to this developing story? Email Wayves.
Journal: the most recent news is at the top
2026-04-01T08:30: The GoFundMe is at $4,998, 42%
2026-03-20T12:00: The survey results, above, were added.
2026-03-12T08:30: A $2000 anonymous donation has raised the GoFundMe to $4,703, 40%.
2026-03-11T08:30: The GoFundMe is at $2,703, 23%
2026-03-10: a long passionate Reddit thread by TransMascCatBoye about the loss of the space: "With over 5,000 active members, they've become a huge source of community and support, especially for their trans members. They've even helped house folks when they were homeless and job searching, helping multiple people avoid living on the streets or in tents while they got back on their feet." The Reddit article says that the building owner is offering an extremely modest $50,000 down payment on the building. The Herald article says that CFAT's purchase cost for the building is estimated at $900,000 with a $225,000 down payment.
2026-03-07: the owner of the business, Night Spa, Chris Awesome, starts a GoFundMe with a target of $12,000 to help the business buy the building from the landlord (that is, Night Spa buying it instead of CFAT.) Awesome says, "I am good friends with the owner of the building who has agreed to consider making an alternative arrangement so that we can purchase the building instead but we need to raise some money fast for a down-payment."
2026-02-17: Chronicle Herald article about the Centre for Art Tapes buying the space, which does not mention the current use or history of the building.
2024-03: a Wayves writer does an intimate and loving review of the space. This is Wayves' top read article ever with over twenty thousand views.
2022-08-31: The business, "Night Spa Halifax" is registered as a Sole Proprietorship with the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies.
2022-08-05: "Have you heard?" published on the NightShade instagram account.
2003: Opened as a gay bathhouse. Here's the history of the space in the Halifax Rainbow Encyclopedia.
