2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

"I dare you...."
OK here's the deal if you REALLY want to be in Mott's club you have to spend the night at the school.... and surrvive.
Anyone up for a horror movie.

It's col yet terrafing at the same time. Very claustrophobic.

The name of the college in 1969 was Bennett Junior College, I know because I attended in the early 70s. Dr. Hoyt was my Shakespeare teacher and the Germains taught me French. Molly Ferrer was NOT the daughter of Rosemary Clooney, she was her niece. I lived in Halcyon Hall my first year and then in the horrible new dorms, plain and with no character. I saw Alan Ginsberg at Harkaway Theater give an increditble reading of his poetry and was in Sam Reifler's philosophy class. It was a very strange place in 1970, with rich girls marching against the war and lots of drugs. I was not unhappy when it closed. I happened to vist the place in 2003 while visiting Vassar with my daughter in 2003. I was shocked at the general decline of the place. very depressing. It does not surprise me that it was designed by the same architect as Mohonk Mountain House, a place I love. I haven't seen the pictures yet of other parts of the college but I am sure i could identify them. Lots of memories.

thanks barbara, for the humorous reply, and
for the hellraising on your own. Unfortunately
the Harkaway Theatre is to be demolished
as well. It was originally built as a stable, if
not for the original hotel, then for the college
not long after. I remember my aunt taking me to plays there when i was a little kid. Either
Godspell or Jesus Christ Superstar. {SO 70's!]

DItto. Abundant thanks to Motts for this fabulous site, and you ,Pat , for another excellent and informative posting. It's throughly annoying the way that those articles about Halcyon whicht do make it to the newspapers are not only biased, but full of enough holes that the all important facts consistantly fall through. (Hum, I think I might've just described all newspapers in general.) You can't imagine how valuable your reports are to all of us at a distance. Your "no BS" commentaries are beyond compare and I know that many of us are in agreement it's time to ditch the "Millbrook roundtable rag sheet" and start publishing the "Ratchet Herald".

You mentioned buildings to be saved in this proposed development deal, but I'm wondering about the Harkaway theatre. Any news on that building?

Rock on Motts! Looking forward to any and all new pix's of our beloved Halcyon.

Keep it coming Pat, and a happy jolly St.Patty's to you too :-)

The March 8 public hearing on the Bennett
development was billed as another chance for residents to offer public commentary. As the meeting began, however, it immediately became nothing of the sort. The Planning Board chairwoman changed the format
instead into a forum for the developer to
update Millbrook's own planning consultant.
No public commentary was allowed to the
dissappointment of many of the over 90
attendees.The claim was made that no new info was being submitted by the developer.
Yet by the end of the evening a large number of developments were made public for the first time, many after most of the attendees
spoke with their feet and left upon being
misled. Perhaps next meeting no one will be allowed to comment on this last one's developments? They are getting famous for this swap-o/ change-o routine.
Perhaps because last meeting 61 of 62
speakers were on record as against this fiasco?
The mayor dosn't seem to be having a problem with his free speech being curtailed.
He has published a very bitchy letter to local
papers excoriating opponents of this deal.
He is in a bid for re=election in less than 2weeks, and took a case to the County Supreme Court to have his opponents
candicacy nullified at the last minute. He
lost the case badly, complaining of missing legal deadlines because of bad weather. Judge
James Brands, known as a strict interpreter of the law , in cases before his court at least,
dismissed the case quickly.
The politician who can sucessfully develop
Bennett will be worshipped as a brahmin god
by certain segments of Millbrook's political,
banking, and real estate community. The
politician who attempts this and fails will go
down in flames of political oblivion.Make no
mistake, this is smash mouth, bloodsport politics to the parties involved here. There
are many millions of dollars at stake for the
public and private sector, There is so much
goddamned money in millbrook in general,
it is almost staggering.

The final application will be submitted by the
end of March. The developer says he is creating a web site with all available info, to spare the village clek being inundated with
Freedom of iNFORMATION requests.
It was settled that THERE ARE NO MORE ZONING ISSUES, this site is legal in that regard for this development, and that that will
NOT be revisited. From here it is a matter of
environmental permits, etc. and final legal
drafting etc blah blah...
In addition to concerns about road width,
trees and landscaping, and other site issues,
they were savvy enough to bring in a Historic
Resources consultant, who revealed that The State Office of Historical Preservation requested that they AGAIN LOOK AT THE BUILDINGS TO SEE IF MORE OF THEM CAN BE SAVED, which was concluded negatively.

On the positive side, the east wing's tower,
as well as The Chapel, and two quality Victorian houses are to be saved, along with some section of the beautiful stonework.
PIcture this photo with most of the stone base
but all of the wood section gone except the
easternmost fifth or so. This is what the computer simulation looks like anyway
There has been alot of redesigning of the
housing to be built, that it will fit with the
Tudor style of what will be saved, as well as the look of the village's housing at large.
Another huge revelation was that Blumenthal
will pay for a traffic roundabout at the everlong
dangerous Monument intersection at the
southeast corner of the parcel. This would be a welcome restoration of a very historic, and
long neglected slice of local history.
I think this is the best to be hoped for, really.
None of these concessions would have been a reality but for alot of different people getting
really pissed off and demanding input, including even this website,. I know for a fact that involved parties have monitored the chatter on this message board, which i think is a good thing. In that
regard I have to commend the developer, i hate to say. It is the village govt. that has acted
like absolute shits to the people they serve.
Blumenthal & Co must be aware that they have taken alot of the pr blowback that deserved to be square in the village board's
faces, but hey that's why he makes a buck, right? Besides, the village gvt is WAY too busy
trying to get people to vote for them, instead of actually
LISTENING to those voters.
F*** 'em. Selling off our history SHOULD be expensive, hopefully to all of their miserable political careers!


Thanks again Motts for providing a forum
where free speech still reigns!

happy st patricks day to all!

Now this is the REAL haunted house photograph !!!

Fantastic shot !!!

Signed: An American Soldier stationed in Germany.

This looks a dead - end.

Signed: An American Soldier stationed in Germany.

I can't tell you how many times I stoped and looked at that building, and from time to time taken a photo. I can't tell you how many times I drove by and someone else was looking and taking a photo. In a world of homoginous town centers how exilerating to see a town with enough guts to let it be. If it's ever gone I shall look never again. Millbrook might as well be Yonkers for all I'll care. It shall loose its identity.

The wood cages with metal screens were likely a place to store out-of-season stuff that the students wanted on campus with them, but didn't need in their rooms. My boarding school had a similar set-up.

awesome picture

my last name is bennett so this is VERY weird

Views of things like that building during childhood create people like Giger and Burton. I should know I've lived down the block from this: http://www.forgotten-n...n/hospitalruin.html my whole life.

pat, thanks for your updates. Those of us with an honest love For Halycon/ Bennett appreciate your keeping us informed. Now if I can just hit the darn lottery......

2007 finds the Millbrook planning board
finally holding meetings re: the impending development of the Bennett parcel. Predictably,
these first meetings open to the public are
already the ones slated to declare wether or
not the plan is given a negative environmental
declaration allowing the plan to go forward. A
positive declaration would mean that more
intensive environmental studies are required.

Billionaire Oakleigh Thorne, the publishing
and software magnate, said he was concerned about possible effects to his nearby
farm, particularly because the water flows to it westward through the Bennett property.
[ Thorne's estate, Thornedale, has been in his family since before the American Revolution.
It was deeded to his ancestors by Crown Grant. It is considered one of the great
country seats of the northeast, due to it's
architecture, renowned gardens, colonial
pedigree, and it's high standing for centuries
in American racehorse and cattle breeding.]

Thorne expressed his doubts about the projects chances of succeeding if more
reviews and studies are required, and in
that event "we will help find a project better suited for our community." This recieved
enthusiastic applause from over 80 attendants.

more meetings are planned in the coming weeks. some people are in favor of this
proposal, and speak out in favor of it as well.
In some cases there is more to it than meets
the eye in terms of said parties public/
private interests being rather conflicted, let's
put it that way, but hell, we are all entitled to our
opinions for WHATEVER reasons, pro or con,
right? as long as the con ain't on me,baby....
i mean, I'm biased as hell on the issue,
for my own goddamned reasons...

is oakleigh hinting at getting behind an alternative proposal?
perhaps; his family has and probably continues to be one of Millbrook's most
generous benefactors, often anonymously.
there had been idle chatter, often referred to
as Gossip, that the Thorne's wanted
something Proper to happen with their
failing neighbor Halcyon Hall. Who knows...

But the relationship between Halcyon and
Thornedale can be historically described
as polite ambivalence; Halcyon's founder
HJ Davison Jr. was upfront about trying to upstage it's neighboring estate, and it's
very in-your-face siting relative to the Thorne
bloc still resonates in terms of proximity.
Mansion building tended to be very competitive
in the nineteenth century. Perhaps some things have changed since 1893?

i will be Pat-strodamus and predict that...
this project will likely go through, perhaps
with modification. Too much of which will definitely make the whole thing unprofitable
for anyone, and Halcyon will STILL be left
to rot, fall, or burn.

What a fuckin mess....