All Comments on 'The Exchange: An Historical Note'

This is pretty sterile stuff for you, Lynn. I was in D.C. during that period, too, but I never made it to The Exchange. Sounds like a good place for the in-crowd to wind down after an exciting day of planning raids on the Watergate. Who says Republicans don't know how to have fun? This might appear as a footnote in some future history of the Nixon years in Washington.

Interesting story. As an Englishman, who's wife attended swingers parties, not with me I hasten to add, it's nice to know about other places.

We went to a party at the Exchange once, and it was at a downtown hotel then. It was fun. All the matresses from the hotel rooms involved were put into a large common room. Between 50 and 100 people took different actions at different times. The fee, in the mid 70's was still $50 a couple. Single guys were not particularly welcome. Many bi women attended. Later we were members at the Inn Place. Played there a couple of dozen times. Dance floor, Jacuzzi for twelve, swimming pool for nude swimming, open and closed rooms. Open Thursday thru Sunday. Run for profit by a middle aged couple. They sold their liquor license, so it was BYOB. Again, Thursday night was bi night. Friday and Saturday were for couples only. You had to make special arrangements to come as a single male.

Your East coast parties from what I hear were much calmer than some on the West Coast. We ran a party house in the Bay area of California in the mid 70's and it's actually still there (sort of)......It was an on premise house, which meant that sex was allowed. Three floors of fun, a hugh indoor hot tub, a great buffett and a friendly staff.

Hosts or hostesses greeted you at the door and showed new couples around, and explaining the few club rules. No single men were allowed, just couples and single women....On the main floor was the living room, dance floor, buffett, and the HUGH hot tub. The top floor had a locker room, two small party rooms, and a hugh group room with mirrored ceilings.....The bottom flooor had many private areas, and a small group room. This was the place where dreams were made and fantasies fulfilled. Way different from the off-premise clubs like the Exchange.

Interesting and so are the comments readers are leaving. Thank you

I really liked the walk back into history

There is an old movie about something called "the Exchange". It is considered what I think is called a grindstone (I might have the word slightly off) movie. It doesn't really have a lot of explicit sex but is about wife swapping. The genre is probably 50s, 60s, possibly as late as the 70s. It is depressing and doesn't end happily. The name used to arrange parties and swaps is interesting in view of the name of the group your friends were involved in. I doubt if it is a coincidence.