Parc des Eaux Vives

The Parc des Eaux Vives sits on a large estate, founded in the 16th century by the Plonjon family and then purchased in 1714 by the banker Joseph Bouer, who added the manor house in 1750. The home served as a boarding house at the beginning of the 19th century, before Louis Favre purchased the entire property in 1866.

Favrier's property was acquired by the Société de l'Industrie des Hôtels in 1897.^[1] Since at least 1898, there have been public attractions available on the park, with 50 centimes entry fee.^[2]

The manor house was converted into a high-end restaurant around 1900. In 1907, the park was further developed by landscape gardener Jules Allemand on behalf of the Société des Hôtels de Genève.

A "Luna-Park" was added in 1911. It included several attractions, on top of the park's restaurant and theatre. These included Afrique mystérieuse ("Mysterious Africa"), a recreation of an "African village" consisting of some one hundred men, women, and children; a water slide; a skating rink; and a "Venetian lake" with gondolas. It was promoted as a celebration of science and was funded by entrepreneurs from Geneva.^[2]

In 1913, the Parc des Eaux Vives was formally purchased by the commune of Les Eaux-Vives. It became a property of the city of Geneva in 1931, when the communes unified.

As well as the restaurant, the park includes a small pond fed by a stream flowing from a cave, and multiple collections of large plants which includes an important collection of rhododendrons, donated by the Netherlands to thank Geneva for its humanitarian aid during the Second World War.

Since 1898, the park has been home to the Tennis Club of Geneva, the first tennis club in the city. A clubhouse was built in 1928 and a main court in 1958, which hosted the Grand Prix ATP Tour de Genève in 1980 and 1991.