2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

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.

Pat, thanks for the update on her & that a time we've all dreaded has arrived now. Sad to see her go, she has stood proudly for a long time.

So initial demolition on the campus has begun, just not on Halcyon yet.
The debris is supposed to go to Ohio.

so Felicity, I'm sure you are more accurate in your assessment. I was just sort of guesstimating, seeing how much longer all of this has gone on past time beyond what anyone has hazarded to guess. And that house The Pines I suppose didn't 'disappear', just that I noticed one year it had been there, and the next gone. there was alot of rerouting of the various campus roads in the wake of the removal of the Pre-school from Exmoore hill down to the Monument. Somewhere in that time it evidently was demolished. Curious why, it was a very old colonial that nonetheless had been fairly well upkept. The whole Bennett parcel is this strange time capsule in many ways. But modern life cracked open the seal a long time ago here.

The library. One of the more modern buildings, glued on the end of Gage Hall.

hey guys please post tear down of the old girl i will be there oct 9-13 maybe catch a view if any- heard this before

What do you mean a house disappeared entirely? Houses can't just vanish, right? Did someone demolish it under the cover of night or something? I'm sure that the entire area of Bennett is a utilities nightmare, like you said. From what I remember, that intersection at the monument was once the main entrance to the village, before they rerouted it to the Bennett light. That would mean that there's connections for the old campus buildings, the single family houses, and the condo complex there, as well as utilities for the village itself, if they put them there and haven't rerouted. It also appears that we're thinking along the same lines a little, because I also thought that Exmoore would make a nice bed & breakfast. It'll be nice and secluded, a park on one side, a country club on the other. Based on the presentation that I just saw, it'll also have walking access to the village, and the possibility of performances in the park in the future. Unfortunately, I don't even have 1.5 million pennies to put towards it, never mind dollars.

Speaking of the presentation, I've finally managed to view it in its entirety. Based on what I've seen it appears your estimate of 3 years might be a little long, Pat. They want to have it all cleared out by January 8th, and building a park shouldn't take too long after that. I'm going to call an end date by this time next year. Earlier if we have a warm winter and/or spring. Work should already be underway as I write this, but they're not planning to bring down Halcyon until early October. It may take up to a month for them to fully demolish and truck her out, so there'll be plenty of time for spectating. The demolition process all looked clean, well organized, and above board to me, so it should be relatively safe (I hope).

Ultimately, I can't find any faults with it. They're planning on using as much of the foundation as they can save, and there should be a Bennett tribute or memorial there in the future. Apparently the old amphitheater is still there up by the art buildings, and they're going to save it. They also appear to have listened to your ideas, Pat, as there's plans for a rail trail and bandshell there in the future. And as much as I hate to admit it, Bennett and Halcyon's sacrifice is a noble one. I was quite pleased with the plans for the park and Thorne Building. I just wish it didn't have to be one or the other, but it was always going to end this way, wasn't it?

Here's the link to the presentation, so everyone can see it for themselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYOwvakxOV8
Just a word of warning, the audio is anywhere from manageable to terrible, but I could understand most of it. Use the captions if necessary, they help a little.

You know Felicity, maybe it's those things. People speak casually of hauntings, but I have never heard anything real about that here. But who knows. It may be just that the entire campus has been an uncertainty and an eyesore for so long. Besides the condo complex, it has been a real estate no man's land, and maybe its provenance has been affected by all the twists and turns and proposals that floated and never happened. In that time, several of the houses surrounding went abandoned as well. And a very historic house called The Pines, right at the southwest corner of campus, disappeared entireley in the 2000's?
So things have been unstable down there for awhile. It is understandable that all neighbors are tired of how long its all dragged out.
There are tremendous sewer/ water, power issues that converge there underground in a VERY complex and overlapped ganglia-like mess, really. The fact that there is no residential component of the upcoming park design makes all that easier to deal with.
The other thing is the complexity of easements on the campus is going to require that there will be access for demolition, remediation, and conversion to a park. It's going to be messy for awhile, and will likely be phased over months, even years.
For Exmoore the upside is I believe it is fully zoned for business as well as residential? A bed and breakfast would be a natural fit for some enterprising entrepeneur. In any event, it seems like it'd be a nice place to live-in about 3 years!

I've made my peace with it. I still wish that it didn't have to end this way, but it does, and it's for the best. It's time for Halcyon to have her "days of halcyon rest". From her sacrifice, the town will get a brand new park, as well as a restored Thorne Building. I think that after I've seen the park completed, I won't be back to Millbrook. It's a shame, because it's such a nice town, but I have a lot to work out. Maybe time will prove me wrong. Speaking of the park, that public meeting that Pat mentioned will be tonight at 6. Hopefully someone will have a video of it, because I have to miss it for work.

You're right, Pat, that you're not supposed to take things from haunted houses, because they might have spirits attached to them. I'm not sure that Halcyon is as haunted as people say though. I think it's more a case of people telling stories to give it a reputation that fits its appearance. If there are any ghosts there, they'd probably be the spirits of upper class teenage girls. I could think of much worse things to have haunting your house than that.

As for Exmoore, thanks for pointing out that it was for sale. After taking a look at the listing, I can't really understand why it changes hands as frequently as you say it does. It's really a beautiful place, especially with the park that's being put in. I could only think of a few reasons why people might not be happy with it. The first is, I could see Halcyon through one of the windows in the photos, but that "problem" will be gone soon. Maybe it's haunted? After her death, Miss Bennett's body and funeral were held there. But again, I could think of worse. The last thing I could think of, is that being on the old Bennett campus gives me some intense feelings. I don't know if that happens to everyone, or if it's just me being a little odd. If it does happen to everyone, maybe they get overwhelmed living there long term? Those are my guesses.

Millbrook will not be the same with the curiosity torn down- where will i go ????????

So sad to here that her time is getting near. So many mixed feelings about the whole saga. Such a strong and Beautiful old girl aye.
She has put up a good fight for So long that ya know it should be her choice to just lay down and go on her own terms. I hear the pain in your voices my friends as you reflect what she means to you all. We don't want it to be this way.
My thoughts are with you all.
Stax V8

guess i am ghoulish - got a rock from BHR proudly in my garden now wow what memories

So much of the salvageable architectural detailing worth saving was ripped out of here years ago. Some choice pieces [the main fireplace mantel for example] ended up being used in restorations on other properties in Millbrook. Some of it quite shadily so! Dicey provenance, as they say in art circles.
But I'm glad it survives in some form or other. Some of the balustrades and banisters were used elsewhere in Millbrook on other Ware buildings. So that's always cool. But, yeah, no souveniers for me. Isn't that like a haunted house thing you are not supposed to do, too? That objects could be haunted, etc.? Well if it is, I know a few multi-million dollar estates in town that have haunted fireplaces and banisters, then!

The MCP as it is called has obtained bids for demolition throughout the 32 acre campus, and has begun obtaining permits. Demo is to begin as soon as the requisite funds are raised. Which is slightly ambiguous. It is overall a $30 million dollar project.

Demo and remediation must certainly run to the millions. Halcyon Hall Alumni House Dorms, the Chapel, Carroll Hall dorms, Mellon Arts Center, Harkaway Theater, the spacey Kettering Science Center that bankrupted the joint back in 76, and a few other dilapidated houses. Also the removal/ replacement of the tennis courts and pool to the west for the nearby condominiums. That's ALOT of demoing and hauling! Especially with the hazardous waste and asbestos compliance. Which will be complied with I'm sure. But it's still crazy, even with compliance. Still not sure I'd want to be around, even with the era of habitual masking! it's gonna be a big crazy mess, and not pleasant to live around.

The MPC will be holding a public meeting with the campus neighbors and community at large ABOUT the demo, as well as more input on the proposal at large. Which is rather refreshing, compared to developers who fought tooth and nail against public opinion. The MPC having arrived here from vigorous public input from the beginning, seems to value continued and current input from the public moving forward.

I try to just still look at it as Halcyon laying down so the Thorne Building
might live on. Funnily enough, their architects were enemies. Some rivalries still echo through centuries.

The way it's shaken out is no one wants to pay money just to make a place disappear. Linking it to the restoration of another historic resource makes it appealing, win-win. Doable. Logical.

Speaking of Exmoore on the hill, it is for sale again. This house just flips constantly! Dozens of times it's been sold. I never know why. It is a great little mansion, now updated, pool. It will be now surrounded by a landscaped park at the new entrance to the village. If I had a million and a half just laying around, you know, as one does, I'd pluck it.

can you imagine the dust from the demo and asbestos i'd be leaving the "Commons" with a lawyer behind