The Kaivopuisto spa and park were constructed in the 1830s on the exposed bedrock and marshy land to the south of the city centre. The spa company leased the area from the city in 1834 for 50 years. The spa itself, designed by C.L. Engel, and the Kaivohuone ('the well house') were opened to the public in 1838. In order to finance its activities, the company sold building lots in the eastern part of Kaivopuisto park for those interested in building

villas.
     According to the terms and conditions, the villas were to be built to please the eye, would be surrounded by plants, and were to be at the disposal of the guests of the spa. Kaivopuisto spa life was in its heyday in the 1840s and 1850s when the St. Petersburg high society sojourned in Helsinki after Emperor Nikolai I had forbidden them to travel to the spas in Central Europe.