Dillon's Russian Steam Bath

77 Chestnut St, Chelsea, MA

Dillon's Russian Steam Bath has been sweating people on Chestnut Street in Chelsea since 1885, which makes it, by its own claim, the oldest steam bath in the United States. The heart of it is the Russian Room, a chamber heated by granite rocks that reaches nearly 180°F on the top benches, where you cool off the old way by dipping a sponge in a bucket of cold water and wringing it over your head; next door is a wet steam room that regulars describe as the hottest they have found. There is no plunge pool, just the buckets and the showers. The rest is a big lounge with comfortable chairs and a big-screen TV, a small snack bar, and a crowd of regulars who have been coming for decades. Admission is $40 for two hours, cash only (no credit cards), and the bath is almost entirely a men's house: Tuesday through Sunday are men only, and Monday from 2 to 9 p.m. is Ladies' Night, which the Rizzo family started in 1993 and still runs. Towels are optional inside and most people go without. Extras are the platza ($24), in which a masseur brushes you head to toe with a broom of oak leaves soaked in hot soapy water, and oil rubs at $40 for a half hour or $60 for an hour, booked by phone. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 11 to 8 Saturday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday and 2 to 9 Monday; the bath takes a two-week vacation each July. Gift certificates and private rentals are available, and there is extra parking in the rear lot off Cherry Street. Founded by Russian-Jewish immigrants, the bath was bought by Anthony Rizzo Jr. in 1992 and has been run by his widow Lisa Rizzo since 1999, a woman-owned business that survived the 1973 Chelsea fire, a Chelsea Heritage Grant restoration and the pandemic. It is a Best of Boston pick, a Boston Globe winter staple, and a true neighborhood institution with poker-by-the-steam-room lore, Thursday and Friday regulars' nights and a lounge TV Lisa keeps politically neutral. Her son opened Dillon's Health Spa in Quincy in 2024 with a cold plunge.

Quick facts

Type
Public Bathhouse
Heat
Banya, Steam room
Cold
Cold shower
Temperatures
Sauna 180°F
Drop-in price
$40 per session
Booking
Walk-in only
Session style
Open access
Gender
Gender-separated
Clothing
Clothing optional

Hours

Last updated November 2026.

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