Buvette Cachat

ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS

Description

It is on the site of the Sainte-Catherine de la Touvière church, demolished at the end of the 18th century, that a bathing establishment was built in 1826 using water from the Cachat spring. It is modified several times to adapt it to the growing number of people taking the waters and to the evolution of care. In 1905, the Société des eaux minérales (Mineral Water Company) replaced it with this refreshment bar, the centre of the resort's social life. Designed by the architect Albert Hébrard, it is a masterpiece of Art Nouveau, all curves and counter-curves, whose monumental entrance overlooks the Rue Nationale. The roof structure of the large hall, decorated with stained-glass windows with floral motifs and covered with glazed tiles, is listed as a Historic Monument. It houses a graceful statue by the sculptor Charles Beylard, "Apotheosis of the Cachat spring", a recent copy of which is in front of the spring.