The old hydroelectric power station on the Rhône was built between 1883 and 1892 by the architect and engineer Théodore Turrettini. The power station delivered water from the Rhône and the lake for the city’s fountains, households and factories by means of 18 turbine groups, until its closure in 1963. The building was classified as a protected historic monument in 1988 and – after three years of refurbishment – converted into a theatre in 1997.