History of Geneva History of Geneva The History of Geneva dates from before the Roman occupation in the second century BC. Now the principal French-speaking city of Switzerland, Geneva was an independent city state from the Middle Ages until the end of the 18th century. John Calvin was the Protestant leader of the city in the 16th century. Geneva first appears in history as an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Celtic Helvetii tribe, which the Romans took in 121 BC. In 58 BC, Caesar, Roman governor of Gaul, destroyed the Rhône bridge at Geneva and built a 19-mile earthwork from Lake Geneva
The Riviera (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin) time for a dance on September 1 later that year. Local architect James Roy Allen was selected to design the building. The total cost was only $55,000. In 1980, the building was rehabilitated by local architect Daniel Curran. As the "most intact historic building associated with transportation in the Geneva Lake area," the Riviera was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on April 3, 1986. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the Riviera ballroom hosted such renowned swing and jazz bandleaders as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Gene