2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

Hey Celeste,how would you feel actually being taught in this marvellous site.Being back there in time being a border and soaking it all in.And then being able to enlighten people of the memories.Merry Christmas guys.I pray all is well with you and yours.From this side of the world,TAKE CARE and will talk to you all soon as.Motts Cheers mate.Will have a rum for you over the holidays and the friends over there with Pat and Wanderer.Not one for each of you as get too drinked,and that not how to handle the jandle.CHEERS to all and be SAFE.

nah, it is next to the part of the building that just collapsed ~

Well Pat, if it means anything, if I was rich, or won the lottery, the first thing I'd do after.... a few life insurance policies *ahem I'd probably be hands on fixing this thing* is dump 100 Million Dollars into the rebuilding, asbestos removal, and restoration of any carving/design work.

Including the side project of the demolition of the expansions around her, I find them an architectural eyesore, and besides.. those buildings look in even worse shape in terms of foundation than Halcyon Hall.

Also I'd want to restore the original Dining Hall building at the end of the West Wing that was presumably demolished for expansion in the early 1900s. I think that general area is now the Auditorium. Improving it's fire safety... would be wise, so exact replication of the interior may not be ... wise.

and no matter what I wont let her fall back into this shape ever again, I'd have an insurance on her that will last 500 years if necessary, if electricity needs to be turned off, for whatever reason, the water will be drained and turned off beforehand! and there will be a fund to keep her in good shape while she is vacated.

That is my dream anyway... fell in love with her from the first picture, never fell in love with a building before until I saw it by random chance on reddit. She should probably have a photo on the Queen Anne Building wiki page. I'll see to it when I get the chance~

Correct me if I am wrong, but is this the 2nd level of the turret building?

and I wouldn't recommend moving that door :P which is probably crushed by now anyway...

Is it weird that even though I've never been in this building that I know where this is exactly? lol I think i've been spending to much time trying to recreate it in a game... :S

Pretty sure this is the part of the building that recently collapsed.

Wowzer. I remember my grandmother mentioning she used such a device. Got to love history. :)

didn't Brooke Sheilds go to vassar

You hit the nail on the head Flora, the land Halcyon sits on is what has been Coveted, since BEFORE Bennett College even CLOSED!

It converges Rt's 44, 343, and 82, at a point that is scenically
beautiful, relatively undeveloped, and the kind of location, that if you are headed somewhere, you want to get through quickly, no matter
WHERE you are headed. It is a mile and a half from the geographical center of the county [for that, see Copperfields]


For all intents and purposes, it is surrounded by it's same neighbors
from the late 1890's onward: thoroughbred country estates, Millbrook's
country club, it's longstanding Caddyshack-vibe notwithstanding, lol,
and the 4-way marker Monument which people seem compelled to smash their cars into all of the time for no holy reason at all.

Other than the smashing sounds generated by those continuous wrecks [why, people?] that area of South Millbrook is still almost
idyllic. Quiet. Very nice. It was that way when I was a small child.
And I was assured it was that way long before.

There are a ton of other reasons the Halcyon /Bennet parcel is
multiply attractive to any number of potential purchaser/ developers.
It is zoned for almost any-a-thing you might want to do here. I have
routinely propose all manner of preposterous scenarios. As nuts
as they all are, ZONING would be the LEAST obstacle to Any of them.
Look what WAS ready to rip on through, ya know?

It also has fairly stable neighbours. The condo dev already there has
proven fairly civic-minded IMO. The golf course to the east is one of the oldest in America [that may NOT be the best way for me to put that stat,
lol...] South Millbrook below is still the country hamlet i remember,
mostly formed by the expansion of the college, but overlapping
the earlier historical era from the County House.

East of Bennet is The Dutchess Land Conservancy, which has
put so much of central Dutchess, right here, on the forever wild,
forever undeveloped rolls. And forget propaganda you hear, these
are not land grabs. It is mostly convincing landowners, large and
small, to do what is indisputably in their interest, AND YOURS, MINE
and ANYONE else who can appreciate why the vicinity NEEDS,
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY DESERVES protection from INCONSIDERED development, the likes of which you can go see
ANYWHERE, if you really need to seek out that sort of thing.
It is All the %& @# around you!
Why in the WORLD , MUST you HAVE TO see It HERE?! AS WELL?!!

It is hard to believe The Millbrook Hunt wouldn't fancy trotting through here, The way they used to, depending on what the site becomes. There are a multitude
of scenarios, but.... forget MY cynicism, how many times has this
town shot Themselves in the foot over this Spot.? On the face of it
suppose.

But their is another side. This place has been used often for
various reasons as excuses for this that & the other.
Evasion of Code Enforcement. Paradoxical Selective Enforcement
of Building Code. Simultaneously.

But i don't think local government can really do much, anyway
forgetThe Legal Realm. The machinations of the Private Sector Prevail....example..
The Cardinal Hayes Home proposed a group home at Exmoore
House, former President's Mansion for Bennet College,
a great house in great shape, jewel of the property but not part of the
parcel. In real Estate terms, this house has flipped more times
than Flip Wilson [ok, I might be losin the kidz, here]
It is a fabulous house, but is locked in hostage to the Bennett
scenario whatever TF that is going to be.

Denied State funds in light of economic downturn, [pre-Sandy, even]
the plan has just been abandoned. Real estate interests would have
liked to see that in light of NO development anywhere else near
The Parcel. Others view that as the Kiss of Death longterm for
attractive development post-Halcyon demo. So for many, grand
rotting, pain-in-the-ass Bennet College helped prevent a group home
landlocked into their future plan.


Score One More for Victorian Ruin As Real Estate Golem.

If not for Halcyon's hopeless condition, that sort of Usage would not even
be Contemplated there. it is sorta, kinda complicated. Or it seems
that, way to me. I don't think my hometown has a bigger
[or smaller] NIMBY complex than small towns anywhere else, really.
I actually think Millbrook has always been way more progressive than most in that regard, in moral terms. But it is just about business,
today, gone later today.

So locals and neighbors see development here being a major drag.
Newcomers who see killer frontage/acreage in their own terms,
well, what can you say?And I qualify my use of the term Newcomer,
accordingly, OK? I get it. We are All Newcomers. That is not only right,
but necessary. But look abouthcha' a bit before you want to build
anything like a theme park...or a housing dev that looks even a little BIT like one, here.

A ruin like this has invited conceptually bad development already.
Until the building is Gone it will continue to be THe Radioactive
Bermuda Triangle of Millbrook's real estate cabals. THat is just
undeniable. They are gonna ratchet up a whole new scenario,
again, I have seen it a dozen freakin times....and yet there is
never any actual Disposition. So that must be how the people who
decide things, decide its gonna be? Right?THat's how it's always gone, so that's how it will be. I guess?
I string a phrase or two sarcastic here and there, but I'm not quite
Copernicus. Or The Oracle of Millbrook's Delphi.
But it seems it would require a seer, or some sort of financial
mystic, to auger the influence of planet Halcyon over Millbrook, village
of, in the year of our Lords, 2013.

Like a Black Hole, of Realty, it 's magnetic attration is so
strong that even light [and all sense, with it] gets sucked inexorably
into the void. It's YogiDejaBerryVu all over again.

Hopefully, they will have Some Sense of SCALE. & PROPORTION.
I dont' think Reasonable people expect anything more than that.
But, then again...

U make me laff PR -your oration is so eloquent and u could be the mayor of Bennett school must say off with her head - dormers- facade etc -yes UE's have been there and the fence is a' I told them so
the Millbrook inteligencia sit there twittling a pencil amidst fingers with the other hand behind their back fingers crossed- how long can they hold this position

I posted here a while back. I can't imagine who would want it except for the land it sits on. If Halcyon is collapsing steadily, what could possibly be done with it? Glad to hear that Sandy didn't do much damage. Interesting to know what is going on with her. Keep us posted, Pat.

Sandy spared much of the Hudson Valley the more extreme damage
found elsewhere in the tri-state area; it's a real tragedy, everyone
knows someone who's been affected to one degree or another. So
here in Dutchess County [where it is usually US who gets socked]
we were very lucky, relatively.

The current state of deterioration is fairly steady now, Sandy's
effects indistinguishable from just the daily effects of collapse.
The wide dormer windowsof the west roof are going horizontal.
Many of these windows are broken simply because the frame has
twisted so.

The front facade collapse continues, harder to actually see into the
rip, as floors are spilling downward. Simply put, the place is a real mess. But it is tough as hell, I never imagined it would still be standing this long.

The western section of Fencing has been breached with impunity.
People have been going in and out of here Whenever The Hell
They Want. Note to village: Your Fence has been a waste of time,
effort, and money, from day one. And oh, yeah, that's right...
Everyone who posts here Told You So!!
It also makes the place look worse, not better. But go ahead and pat
one another on the back about having 'done something' if it makes
someone feel better about it. Probably some insurance agent, who
is sleeping better at night, or whatever. Fair enough.
I always forget that money is no object around here. But, then it is.

The real Huge Newz about Halcyon is that it is rumoured to have a
possible buyer.

The veracity of said assertion could range anywhere from certitude,
to outright fabrication.
In normal speak: it is probably bull donkey. But who knows?

There is alot of political machination and motivation underway behind the scenes, to reach some disposition of the property. There was a
huge plan in place. It didn't get to that level of development without
a lot of grease. The plan failed. So some people or interests got
burned. Whatever's next, they want there's first. And they kind of want it now. It is getting sort of late in the game for them.Cash in the chips down there in South Millbrook, while there is
any hand left to play. Let's get the show on the road, kind of a thing.
And of course, it is now mandated by Code and Law, eh? So who
can argue against public safety?

Not me, bubba. I say call Spielberg. You KNOW what I want to see happen with the place.....


In light of that sort of pressure, mysterious buyers have always seemed to appear, as if out of a gossamer mist from wish land.
I wonder who it is now.? After Paul Newman, and the Rev Syung Moon,
and some famous manufacturer of Irish beer, who might it be?

Stallone? Dick Cheney? Snookie? Shaquille O'Neal? Cher? Ron
Jeremy?

Trump? [he has been in the Hudson Valley alot lately]
Perhaps some of you could make your guess. Just make it up,
because that's what's always worked here before to prevent
movement in ANY direction,on this property.

And christknows what Millbrook needs more than anything is More
Boldface Names.WeMUst Have It!

So let's make it a contest. Not what celebrity will buy it, but who
you think they should FORCE to buy Halcyon Hall, for entree to
the clusterf%&* of a star colony they have assembled here.
But not much has changed, this is EXACTLY how they did it here in
the 1890's. Exactly that way.

So if you think, say Mickey Rourke, or perhaps Courtney Love,
should be FORCED to buy Halcyon freakin Hall, then do a write-in!

Whoever you want!
Whover guesses right gets.. case of Guinness! Or Newman's
Own salad dressing if your a teetotaler! It's ok, this is a big tent
party here. Blue state.

Our little election will have about as much signifigance as yesterday's
national election. A billion dollar pageant, and everythings the same. No matter who wins. No one wins. People who create TV ads win.
People who make bunting did a smashup biz. No wonder they can't
provide Americans with healthcare. Too busy spending Billions to
decide who is going to say we can't afford the Billions to get things
right.

So our contest for Millbrook is quite stupid, but much cheaper,
and easily as inconsequential. Do a write-in.

I say Shatner. Cap'n Kirk. In freakin Millbrook. Hell yes.

How did she hold up against Sandy? and any new news about her?

so sad, so much history, such beauty, just fallen to ruin..

People claiming this building is haunted are merely being superstitious. The only thing haunting about this building, is its more recent past with banks and owners that lead to its deterioration... and trust me that is disturbing enough.

The building is beyond repair, it still stands from what I can tell from googlemaps, it will either be demolished or left to continue to rot. The only hope for preserving the memory of this building is the stonework, and a modernized replica built ontop of it ( still unlikely though *sigh* ). I say modernized because the building doesn't fall into legal building codes, it is/was a fire trap ( as many old buildings are )

Entering the Buildings: Do not do it, the building of particularly interest "Halcyon Hall" is on the verge of complete collapse, every floor is a danger, good portions of roofing is missing, severe water/winter and wind damage has left this place an easy deathtrap. DO NOT ENTER IT. The Dorms building next to it also appears to be split down the middle, which indicates that the foundation has been compromised.

If you do enter these buildings, you are putting your life and other people's lives at risk, as well as the rescuers who may have to save you.

With that said, I wish I could of entered it at least once in my life, I wish I could of saved her. I wish I could save her now. ~Celeste

Contact: mewimi[at]gmail[dot]com