Birley describes:

...the Roman baths were very much more of a social club, where people expected to meet their friends and pass a few enjoyable hours.

The baths were a community center. While they were an excellent place for conversation with friends, they were also often viewed as places of eroticism, which was likely formed out of the fact that men and women bathed together completely naked. They could get a bit rowdy, too, as some people drank too much while bathing. Most people went to the baths to have a good time and many patrons were known to sing in them.

This notion of the meeting place has continued over time. Think of general meeting places in our cities and small towns (e.g. the Boston Common, town greens in Connecticut, such as New Haven, public squares or center cities in Pennsylvania). Also, in the 1940's-1950's, the soda counters at the corner drug store served as a meeting place for people to see one another. Now, in the 21st Century, these soda counters have been replaced with coffee shops like Starbucks.

Fig. 1 The soda fountain

Image courtesy of: http://www.50sfurniture.com/img/galleries/sodafountain.jpg