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Celeste- hmm, perhaps I have not been accurate in description.
The area you have labeled red [great interactivity on yr links, by the
way!] is /was a covered porch, just the corner of the house- like section.
the roof balcony in front sits just 2 feet or so below it, seperated by balustrade. It is contiguous otherwise, and effectively part of the same level, plan-wise. So it like a closed corner porch, that overlooks
the uncovered roof porch/balcony. Hope this helps.
the entire eastern tower wing was a seperate house originally, and
only closed in later.imagine the left hand as a T-shape turned on end,
seperating the wing from the rest of the building.all internal
linking hallways were added later, even as outer protrusions.

Anyways, you know, the usual...complicated!

Also the steps to the basement never had doors, the steps continued
in the same pattern as from above. The difference in look is due to
modern renovations, including the elevator and machine room
directly behind that wall to the basement, as well as general
remedial work done to the basement floor as it's stone arches were filled in to reclaim interior space, and accomodate the modern dormitories and assembly hall between them. Hope this helps.

Wanderer my friend, I'm certain Halcyon will be here for your Millbrook visit. So glad! just be careful. Of the social as well as physical hazards of a Bennett visit..
I don't live in Millbrook anymore, but work there alot. It is a place that
is very close to my heart.

People have been asking about floorplans. I have evaded as long as
I can answering, because it is quite complicated. The floor plans
that are on the internet, even here on Opacity I believe, are limited
to just the main and second floors, I believe, with sections of the
attic story as well I believe.?

I have full blueprints for the entire original hotel. I am however
CURRENTLY unable to share them as of yet, as I am soon to
publish the definitive monograph / biography of Halcyon' Hall's
architect James E Ware. This sweeping project is an absolute epic,
I assure you. I have secured the enthusiastic cooperation of the
architect's family, as well as Columbia U, AIA,NYHS, etc ad infinitum.
It has been decades in the making.

I recently gave a lecture at The Millbrook Library about Ware for
the Dutchess County Historical Society. Millbrook's own historical
society, which has never assisted me, jumped on that bandwagon
as a "sponsor". They had nothing to do with it at all as far as I can tell.
Many of their fine membership attended, and I hope they enjoyed it.
There are many fine people there, whom I would truly never want to offend.
when I have shared my data and material with the former historians,foolishly, expecting reciprocity, i recieved no callback, email, or letter response.
Where I come from, that's a snub. Lower-case "s", but still a snub.

It is more than I will go into here about why they have never got on board, but it dosn't matter. I don't need them anymore. I now have more
than they will ever be able to provide on the topic, and what they do have that i may use, i have obtained without them. I also do not require their
permission to use any of it. I will however, unlike them, acknowledge
all sourcing and copyright credit, in accordance with all standards and practices. You know, the way things are supposed to be done, if
you have any integrity or credibility whatsoever. My material was
poached badly, without any credit at all, and the MHS then turns around and acts as if they facilitated my lecture.I don't know what they did,if ANYTHING to justify that really. Maybe I'm wrong. So while I will
credit them in my book, I can say here how I really feel.

to the Millbrook Historical Society, thanks. For Nothing.

I have complicated things somewhat by my long history of posts here
on Opacity, specifically, my foul mouth, which i have tried to curb,
in the interest of good manners, i suppose. But more importantly,
many of the things I have said in re: the redevelopment proposals
for this property, have been much more strenuously objectionable to many
people whom i know, in government and real estate. I'd say it all
again, perhaps not so obnoxiously smart-assy, I suppose. If it
is a question of style that has rankled some, fair enough. But the
substance of my personal Opinion[s] are definitely a bigger problem to others.

In any event, that is precisely how I would characterize it-THEIR problem, not mine.

In short, I have decided to play nice and not burn more bridges than
necessary. It is great that Motts let's me rant here to a general audience that may not get the nuance, but i guarantee the people
who need to hear all this dust we kick up here, do in fact see and read it. So this site as well plays a super huge role, still, in what has and
will go on at Halcyon Hall. {thanks Motts! you freakin rule...]

So I am sharing NOTHING online with ANYONE until my book is out.
It will be at least a year. I am involved in dozens of transactions to
obtain copyright/ permission, etc for publication.[Halcyon's blueprints
are copyright free, by the way. Another reason in fact why i will not release them before they are published.] I have been burned
one time too many, and my policy is only negotiable to individuals
and organizations that are giving ME the things that I require, AND
I GET MINE FIRST.

Once I made this decision, EVERYTHING I have been needing from
dozens of previous sources, has BEEN PROVIDED enthusiastically.
And i have then RECIPROCATED even more generously.

So from here until publication, that's how I roll, to protect
not only myself, but others who have made generous provision
and exchange of materials. I was, frankly, uncomfortable even
lecturing on the topic, without the tome already published. I did so
for reasons of my own, all of which were gratifying, including being
able to leapfrog the people and organizations whom could have helped, didn't, and have now become decidedly...banwagonesque.

touche'

BUT.....upon publication, my book on Ware will also be a multi-media
museum exhibition, for which much appendix material and imagery
will be extrapolated. This will accompanied by a website. Between the
three incarnations, ALL of my Ware archive WILL be made available,
the latter example FOR FREE.
I sincerely apologize for not just being cool and throwing it up on the
web. It would be totally cool for everyone, and I would be completely
undermining my project, which I promise, is... Absolutely Spectacular..

Who knows, you might be able to find floorplans on your own.{Hint: posibly even online?} But unfortunately
I will not provide it, as I have agreements with people whom I
AM beholden to, who HAVE helped me...So it is complicated when
I longwindedly [over]explain it, but simple for me when I just stick to
my Policy, and choose for myself selectively when and where I
decide to assist anyone else, people's opinion's be damned.
Which I guess is what got me here in the first place. But here we are.

Anyway, thanks for all yr patience, and I hope people understand.
I really can't wait for this book to be done, so I will no longer come
off as such a dickhead.
But to quote Christina's handsome cop at Bennett-
"I don't give a shit-just stay outside the fence!'' lol....

best regards to all the regulars, and everyone else- pat freakin ratchet

my mom was in this hospital. i visited her there several times. there wasn't anything cool or fun or goth or awesome about it

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Hate to disappoint you guys but it is doubtful you have stumbled upon some secret Cold war era James Bondesque laboratory or a former nuke silo/storage area for nukes. A lot of equipmet used by NATO forces contained radioactive material and thus no matter how small the amount or radioactive material warning stickers had to be displayed outside of that storage area. Even something as hum drum as your smoke alarm contains a very small amount of radioactive material and has a warning sticker on it.

Controls for a dry pipe fire suppression system. The white pipe at the upper left is an air line to keep the system charged. The strange looking device above the gate valve is what is call a "clapper valve". It works on the principle that the air in the system, on top of the clapper, which has a diameter 4 to 5 times of the diameter of the bottom of the clapper. What this means is that 40 psig of air on the top of the clapper can resist over 150 psig of water pressure on the bottom of the clapper.
One sprinkler head pops, the air is gone, the clapper valve opens and stuff gets big time wet.

WHOOPS! The cold water input is at on the left at the bottom of the tank, the three pipes would feed through different coils to heat the water. Very expensive unit and very rare. The units were set to work on a demand basis. the more demand the more coils are on line. Wow, what a nice find, I have heard about these but never saw one. Thank you Mr. Motts.

Sorry everyone, not a boiler. It is a water heater. A boiler would have a combustion chamber, this does not. The insulated pipe in the upper left of the picture is a steam line and the un-insulated line at the bottom of the unit is the condensate return line. The pipe coming in at the top middle would be the hot water output line. You cannot see it but on the bottom of the tank there is a cold water input which was sent to a diffuser inside the tank. The boiler is somewhere else.

Ugh... don't care about pigeons one way or the other, but I can only imagine what sorts of diseases must be lurking in all of that mess...

I'm glad to see these archaic beasts (pipe organs) falling into disrepair. Virtually no one cares about pipe organs anymore (except a mere fringe of classical music geeks and old people), and the horrendous expense of maintaining the damn things is beyond pathetic. The egregious racket pipe organs emit is worse than listening to a Snoop Dog CD played through 20 inch subs for hours on end.

These photos are amazing. Some of my favourites for sure.

My Lord, Mr. Motts, that is indeed a, homemade water softener. le right side is zeolite resin which is regerated with salt, the left side is green sand. That unit needs it's green sand replaced, when it's new it is green, as it is used up it turns brown, then black. The unit is not to old, the plumbing is cpvc which is circa 1970. I am going to share this with my water treatment operator!

Yes, I agree, the red handle is a control valve for the fire suppression system. There are also two pumps in the picture but I believe that they are condensate return pumps. The pipe loop to the right of the pumps is an example of a modified Hartford loop, designed to keep live steam from entering the pump chamber. The steam you see is a product of non-use, when the system is not used the condensate dries up and allows the steam to attack the pipe, always at the high point.

Is this inside or outside?

The gallbladder stores bile, which is manufactured in the liver.
Eating FATTY foods causes the gallbladder to contract, dispelling some of the bile into the digestive system to help digest fats. After your gallbladder is removed, the liver makes bile as needed.

NBC nightly news just had a news story about the conditions of Gary today, and a news anchor had actually spoken from within the chapel here. It was very open, the place has practically no walls left. It was surprising that he was even in here. I don't think City Methodist has long left either way, if someone doesn't tear it down, it may just fall down. I normally vote to let nature take its course but i'm afraid it may be to dangerous for a place like this. What a beautiful place it was and still is even in ruins. shame the place has gone to waste.