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Looks more like a Platypus

greetings all. I was fortunate enough to visit Halcyon this past weekend, with the architect James E Ware's great-great grandson. Just a quick look at the place from the back courtyard, a few photos, and a brief glance about. More fencing, just a bit of debris from the east dorms. But in general it still all looks the same. The phased demo seems to spare the site the chaos we expected, as they take care of the northern section of the parcel first. I am sure that will change in a few months.
There is a presence on site, wouldn't call it security per se, but they are definetly keeping an eye on the place. But as we were just taking a look they didn't seem to care. Had they warned us, it might have been funny to mention that we were the original architect's great-great grandson and his biographer, respectively heh heh...
If it were just another year of reporting how much yet another facade has collapsed and how much, there would be ongoing news. The place is a freakin mess, it's really bad looking. Even the ruinous charm is wearing off, it is just a wreck. To me, still deconstructively interesting, but it is very depressing to see in this state. The place needs the new beginning. But I'll still be sorry to see it go.

https://www.dehoorn.eu/nl/feesten-events

It's still there I think

Its a mash/meshing kettle. the part of beer making before fermenting

I shouldn't have watched Videodrome last weekend; the insulation in that hole in the ceiling gives me a very visceral vibe. ;)

Felicity, no worries, happy to be wrong! Halcyon Hall will be the last to come down. Asbestos abatement has been completed on 5 buildings due for teardown, and the brick and steel Science Building is already half demoed. And yes, Hale House is to be saved. It is literally a shell of a house, but still salvageable obviously. Probably still good 'bones' and a good foundation, so why not?
People are wondering why the Chapel has to come down though. It was from the mid-late era of the campus buildings [1927] and is a seperate structure from the main interconnected building. THAT would be the better interpretive center, or in addition to. Maybe there might be some last minute change on that, too? Hale House has been remediated of asbestos. Not sure if the Chapel contains it, different era, different architects. [James E. Ware, unfortunately, was an asbestos proffering madman. Early proponent of fireproofing. In the 1880's that meant asbestos.] I am not aware of the condition of the building. I'd bet it has even better 'bones' though than Hale. It IS quite close to the condominiums, maybe there are issues. It'd be nice to see it survive somehow though, representing the Tudor style, as Hale and Exmoore are all later Colonial Revival style. Alas...
Halcyon is hazardous to the point where workers cannot safely enter to perform asbestos abatement, so in early December the entire structure will be abated as a controlled demolition, in accordance with State laws regarding demo of a structure with asbestos still within. So my fantasy of Halcyon being soaked in thousands of gallons of glow in the dark paint and then exploded at night in a scene worthy of some crazy movie ending- that scenario is pretty definitively out. I'm pretty sure.
And has already been mentioned, all demo on the site is slated to be complete by March 2022, with construction of the park to begin next Spring.
So the work underway now is alot of asbestos abatement. It is also underway in the village at the Thorne Building refurbishment part of the preservation project. As part of the overall plans, I would venture that the work is undoubtedly being done in the safest manner possible, a faith I did not have when the proposal for the site[s] was commercial in nature.
I wrongly assumed Halcyon would be first, just from a PR point of view. An anticipated half year of messy demo without the big one coming down seemed like it might tax people's patience. But to hell with all that, go with what is safest and sensible. My hope is the preservation of Halcyon's stonework, which I continually remind is under State order to be preserved as much as possible.
The obvious section would be the large Southwest porch built in the hillside. The western rampart-like foundations could soften the 'dropoff' that will be there from the courtyard above when the wood sections are gone. And the stone stairway should be saved.
Obviously though the 16 stone chimneys will likely have to come down, perhaps some lower portions might survive, delineating whatever 'terracing' may be contemplated. They might contribute to a 'turreted' look for the site.
So Halcyon gets a short reprieve for those of us whose dreams are occasionally haunted by this ghost ship wonder, from the era of Victoriana.

Visit & dream = We want to buy This Villa. We will see.
They are keeping Ground very clear of Huge Strong Greenery taking over it all, which is very nice & caring. Looks pretty much the same after all years........amazing indeed
Well built.

yay and thanx

There's been a change of plans at the MCP, it seems. Never before have I been so happy to be wrong.

https://www.theharlemvalleynews.net/?p=59142

They're not going to touch Halcyon until some time in December, and now Hale House will be spared the wrecking ball. They're thinking about using it as a visitor's center. I'm quite happy with that outcome, as the more of Bennett that gets saved, the better. I'm not sure why they're delaying the demo by two months instead of going full speed ahead, but you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, so I'm not going to question it.

and the walls of Jericho are really coming down will i see an MT lot keep me up

Felicity, thank you for the photos & your update too on her. Sad to see the demo going fasted than expected.

It seems that they're moving faster than I had thought, or hoped, they would if demolition is already underway. I've been checking in weekly for about three weeks now, and while I had noticed more progress than I thought I would, I didn't think they had torn anything down yet. I didn't see anything from the road today, so it must be the buildings behind the hill. That said, from what I did see today, I don't think it'll be too long before we have to bid farewell to Halcyon. I don't think it'll happen this week though, probably next week, if I'm right. If they want to remediate Alumnae Hall first, we'll have maybe two or three weeks. Here's the pics I took while I was there, for those who can't make it in person:

https://imgur.com/a/s4qSrPO

Sorry if the quality isn't the best. I don't think the workers wanted me poking around, and I wasn't going to stick around to find out.

Pat, I was also just making a guess on when it would be finished, and I apologize if it seemed like something else. You're right that all of this has taken so much longer than anyone would've thought. But I think that whatever forces were at work causing all of the slowdowns, financial failures, and abandonment there don't have the influence they used to. If anything, this seems to be going faster than it should, and unless something comes from left field, this should all run like clockwork.

Those are really beautiful lamps up there and so very many of them.
How astonishing & mysterious that they are still there after all these years. Intact. It is a wonderful photo. Bless, + thanks!

Thank You so much - FunHouse indeed - things fall apart;
all the eeiry and uncanny dangerous angles, huge cracks, tiny doors, then: A LIGHTBULB!
Is there a lightbulb up there? No it can´t be. What is is?

Thank You so much for the Historic photo from 1937. It is breathtaking to realize that the trees are now taller than the building; thus it is not seen from above /anymore/