Work on planning a promenade house began in 1766. It was intended for the pleasure both of the margrave and of the spa guests. The margravian master builder Franz Ignaz Kromer was responsible for the planning and construction work.
The first building had a symmetrical layout, with a hall over one and a half floors behind the main entrance and adjoining utility rooms together with the publican's apartment. It was all still fairly small and compact; after all, during the 18th century there were only around 500 spa guests per year on average.
At the start of the 19th century, the promenade house became state property. Following a clear increase in tourism (there were already 1,555 spa guests in 1801), Friedrich Weinbrenner added a ballroom to the first promenade house. The construction work continued in 1810: three rooms were added to the ballroom, with the largest being big enough to take a gambling table. In addition, a wooden theatre was constructed to the north of the main building (this is the casino wing today).
Source: Robert Erhard "Aus der Chronik der Kaiserallee", part 2