Mega-Plex (257 Allens Ave., 401-780-8769) is the largest and most popular of the two, drawing a lively crowd around the clock. The spacious club is a five-minute drive south of downtown in an industrial area of South Providence, near the river and just off I-95. It's along a small strip of sexually charged establishments, most of them straight "gentleman's" clubs, but there's also a gay, all-nude strip bar called Hush Rhode Island in an adjacent building. Mega-Plex lives up to its "mega" billing with some 300 lockers, 75 private rooms, and plenty of fun common areas for strutting, cruising, and mingling. The crowd here is all-ages, ranging from randy college students (Providence and Boston are both major university centers) to more seasoned veterans of bathhouse culture.
With a more central location downtown, within walking distance of several gay bars and a number of hotels, Club Body Center (257 Weybosset St., 401-274-0298) is part of the CBC chain - the other branch is in Philadelphia. Although CBC Providence isn't quite as consistently popular as Mega-Plex, it's long cultivated a loyal following among leather daddies, bears, and beefy butch guys. The crowd tends to be over 35 here.
