Tour de Champel, Gothic Revival tower in Champel, Switzerland.
The Tour de Champel is a 17-meter-high tower in the Champel residential area featuring characteristic Gothic Revival architectural elements. The structure displays typical features of the Revival style with detailed stonework and distinctive design details.
The tower was built in 1877 for David Moriaud, promoter of the therapeutic baths of the Arve, at the centre of a resort linked to Geneva station by tramway. It was later fitted out as a tea room for the bathers. Abandoned in the early 1970s and threatening to collapse, it was renovated in 1985, but only on the outside: every access to the terrace was walled up.
The tower reflects the taste of wealthy Geneva residents who favored Gothic Revival architecture in the 1800s. It stood as a symbol of their architectural preferences in a neighborhood built for prosperous families.
The tower is accessible from outside and located in a quiet residential area near the Rhone riverbank. A nearby park with benches offers places to rest and view the structure from different angles.
The tower was built in 1877 for David Moriaud, promoter of the Arve therapeutic baths, and stood at the heart of a spa resort linked to Geneva station by tram. Its 17-metre height gave bathers a 360° view over the Salève, the Alps, the Jura and the city. Guy de Maupassant, Camille Saint-Saëns, Hippolyte Taine and Romain Rolland are among its visitors.
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