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yes it was pretty and having the old girl there was a reassurace of the old days- still the the new generation never knew her but maybe a new generation of Opacity will Phoenix from her ashes as WE have

Thank you for the pictures and yt link.
Seeing that brook only makes it seem worse they let it go. That must have been great to walk in in the summer.

all i could do was look in unbelief the behemoth Queen is gone !!!!!! as you say we had her longer than planned and watches thru the years he rmagnificent decay soooo happy you took the time to get the footage for those of us stuck in the midwest and elsewhere what to happen to the board we have been on for decades where to now???? now to find someone to copy it --farewell old Queen again many thanx for the footage fellow Halcyonite

The black would have been used for a total blackout of the light. A simple metal shutter to be used like an on/off switch. When carbon arc lights were used they rarely were turned off until the end of the show. Hence the blackout switch.

Felicity,

Thank you again for that update, however sad it is for us, those were some great photos & the video was nice as well. They are moving fast & the part of her scent, I'd take it as her saying it's ok, I'll know I'll be missed, but, now you have a memory scent to remember me by. Not only have you seen me & heard me, now you've gotten to take in a smell of my true self. I could be putting too much into that thought, but, just a thought there. While it's sad her end has come, at least we had her for as long as we did.

Goodbye, Halcyon Hall, Ms. Bennett. You've been loved by so many.

I've got news. Not much of it is good though. The only good thing that came from today was that I captured a lot of content for you all. I tucked up under one of the big old pine trees in front of the driveway, so I got a front row seat to what they were doing, and stayed there until they were done for the day. Either I managed to turn invisible, or the workers just didn't care, because no one paid me any attention. After they all left, I got pictures from every angle I could think of.

Nigh unrecognizable. That's all I can say about how Halcyon looks from the courtyard looking southwest now. The entire east wing is basically rubble piles, as well as half of the middle section. I also arrived to a nasty surprise. Hale House is gone. I guess they threw out whatever plans they had to make it a visitor's center. That means that every part of Bennett that wasn't repurposed back in the eighties has been, or is being, erased. To say I'm displeased is an understatement.

Watching Halcyon be torn down was a very upsetting experience, and I owe it to my composure that I didn't start crying while filming. Though every sound of falling stone and rending board broke my heart more and more. Still, she refused to go down without a fight. Despite the machinery tearing into the structure, nothing collapsed of its own volition. Even without anything surrounding them, the chimneys still stood tall. Another thing that I won't forget is the smell. The wind was blowing towards me, and it didn't smell like when the dorms were taken down, or the mold and poison that people who've gone inside have told about. Instead, it smelled of freshly sawn wood and antiques. That was the worst part. It was almost as if she still had life left to give, despite everything, but it didn't matter anymore at that point.

Anyways, sorry about that rant. Back to business. Wanderer, you're very likely right that the place will be bare by October, but you'll have a park you can visit instead. It'll be a very lovely place for a park. I'm posting the links to today's pictures and videos at the bottom. I apologize in advance for the quality of the video. That camera can take good shots, but I guess asking for good video out of something that cheap and old is a little much. I won't be able to make it back until Monday, so I'll hope there's still something standing then. Hopefully I'll be able to finish repairing my drone by then as well.

https://imgur.com/a/gMtjWva

https://youtu.be/oPdFppeL8W4

thanks -i dont do social media so will half hearted look at them guess by Oct the place will be bear

Thanks for the update Pat. The pictures are up on almost every Facebook page related to Millbrook, but I just can't bear to look. I suppose I'll head down either tomorrow or the day after. I'll get some shots and videos for you all.

R.I.P. Halcyon Hall. This fate was not deserved, but necessary nonetheless.

Y

I live in ny it is my dream to see this place these pictures help me to see the park in a better perspective

Pat,

Thank you for the update there as well, indeed, R.I.P. to you, Halcyon Hall.

that sad day has finally come, the demolition of Halcyon Hall is now underway. The tower has been torn down on the eastern wing. Time elapse photos show it coming down almost all in one piece, conical roof and all. Amazing.
The foundations for this incredible building were laid almost exactly
130 years ago this spring.

RIP Halcyon Hall

I worked there from 1982 thru 1996 as an LPN, it was a county facility then, As you entered the grounds there was a building that housed the doctor and nurses when it was a TB center, they lived there. Nurses should be single and not knowing much of TB then, then it became a center for behavioral children/ young adults like a detention center, the long building was jenson hall, it housed the children that had TB, the metal beds were brought to the big long windows during the day and at night pushed back at night, At the entrance of Jenson hall was two Cement angels on both sides of the door. The next building was the building that they burnt the waste in, then Broadacres was a building that housed the Adults that had TB, Back then they thought Fresh air and sun shine helped w/ the TB, It was built on the hill, later it became a nursing home housing 120 residents that usually were discharged from a state insitution, some times people from Marcy were discharged and lived at the hunter house, that was hotel utica, then needed care or had no one to take care of them, The deer usually came up to the main building at night to get some left over dry pieces of food, Towards the end of Broadacres they had a certificate of need and was supose to have a new building built just down from the old one, but it was an election year and was it put on the back burner and the county thought we were making them go into the red so they sold it to the highest bidder, it turned out to be St. Lukes, thats who occupied the new nursing home, They were such special people that worked there, alot have passed, and like time fades, but they will stay dear and close to my heart,

what a beautiful oddity leaving the corner as you enter Millbrook- on to new future

my heart is in my throat