Map of Lake Geneva city

Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it was home to 8,277 people as of the 2020 census, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is about 40 miles southwest of Milwaukee and 65 miles northwest of Chicago.

Given its relative proximity to the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, Lake Geneva has become a popular resort city that thrives on tourism. Since the late 19th century, it has been home to numerous lakefront mansions owned by wealthy Chicagoans as second homes, leading it to be nicknamed the “Newport of the West.”

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Lake Geneva location map. Where is Lake Geneva city?

History

Originally called “Maunk-suck” (Big Foot)” after the man who led the local band of the Potawatomi in the first half of the nineteenth century, the city was later named Geneva after the town of Geneva, New York, to which government surveyor John Brink thought it bore a resemblance. To avoid confusion with the nearby town of Geneva, Wisconsin, it was later renamed to “Lake Geneva.”

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, a number of wealthy and prominent Chicago industrialists fled to the shores of Geneva Lake—then a popular summer camp destination—by train. Many of the families built palatial summer homes on the lake, which led it to be nicknamed the ‘Newport of the West.’ Lake Geneva remains a popular summer tourism destination for boating, water sports, and viewing the mansions, which can be seen from the public Geneva Lake Shore Path. Two historic Lake Geneva mansions are open to the public: the Baker House, built in 1885, now a bed-and-breakfast; and Black Point, the lakefront summer estate built for beer baron Conrad Seipp in 1888 in the nearby town of Linn, now a Wisconsin Historical Society museum. Other famous residents who built or have owned mansions on Geneva Lake include the Wrigleys, the Schwinns, Otto Young, and Richard Driehaus.

In 1954, Lake Geneva was one of the three finalists for the location of the new United States Air Force Academy, but lost to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In 1968, Hugh Hefner built his first Playboy resort in Lake Geneva. It closed in 1981 and was converted in 1982 to the Americana Resort, and in 1993 to the Grand Geneva Resort.

Royal Recorders (formerly Shade Tree Studios) was a Lake Geneva music recording studio where artists such as Ministry from Chicago, Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs album ’92; Cheap Trick from Rockford, Illinois, Standing on the Edge album ’85; Queensrÿche, Empire 1990; Crash Test Dummies “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” in ’93; Iron Maiden, Nine Inch Nails from Cleveland Broken (Nine Inch Nails EP) in ’92; and Skid Row recorded albums.

Lake Geneva was also home to TSR, Inc., the original publisher of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, until its takeover by Wizards of the Coast in 1997.

Lake Geneva Road Map

Lake Geneva city Satellite Map

Geography

Lake Geneva is located at 42°35′33″N 88°26′4″W / 42.59250°N 88.43444°W / 42.59250; -88.43444 (42.592380, -88.434424). The city is on the northeast bay of Geneva Lake on relatively flat ground, with some steep hills and bluffs. The White River flows out of Geneva Lake for 19 miles into Burlington, Wisconsin.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 6.55 square miles (16.96 km), of which 6.54 square miles (16.94 km) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km) is water.

See also