Page 212 - Livre Beau Rivage Palace

REMINISCENCES

FROM BUILDING SITE TO BALLROOM

1858-61

Anne VAN MUYDEN-BAIRD

‘On the edge of Ouchy, beside the lake, there was an estate belonging
to an Englishwoman – a Miss Allott. She sold her property to a company that wished to build the ‘When the hotel was finished it was decided to celebrate the opening with a grand fancy-

Beau-Rivage hotel in this wonderful location […]. Marie Tissot [a friend] had a young cousin, dress ball [24 March 1861]. The Lausanne of those days was a lively place with
a builder by trade, who was helping to build the hotel and, on the afternoon of our walk,
he took us over to Ouchy where we stopped to see how the work was progressing. While Marie a large foreign community. In winter, Lausanne families left their country houses for more pleasant,
chatted with her cousin, we children took the opportunity to quickly climb up the builder’s ladder. warmer homes in Rue de Bourg. The people from the Cour neighbourhood, of whom there were
large numbers, seemed to enjoy greater freedom than those from other parts of the town.
After their conversation, we continued to walk to Denantou where we had permission to play. I was still very young at the time of the fancy-dress ball, which I have heard others describe,

This estate was much larger than Bellerive, more attractive and full of surprises […]. When the
but I do remember a little about it. Most firmly fixed in my memory is the description of
Beau-Rivage became a reality, when the beautiful park was laid out, the rare trees – which are still the sensational entrance into the beautiful ballroom made by three gentlemen from Morges –
there – were planted and the whole area surrounded by a balustrade; then they built a wide wall, the three Monod brothers – magnificently disguised as Alexandre Dumas’ musketeers.

the top of which was paved with flat stones to make a public footpath […]. At the lower end The party ended with a brilliant cotillion. My mother gave us the decorations she received
of the hotel garden there are still plane trees. These must be extremely old, their trunks and
branches are bare, but in my youth they were magnificent, their huge branches forming an arch from her dancing partners.’
above the wall and providing delightful shade […].

Anne van MUYDEN-BAIRD, Ouchy mon village. Souvenirs de l’autre siècle : 1855-1880, Lausanne : Spes, 1943, pp. 37-39.

212 213