2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

as halcyon hall continues to rot beautifully, or gruesomely, depending
on your particular aesthetic, Millbrook is frustrated even in it's attempts to compel Halcyon's owners to simply mow the lawn
fronting the former hotel /college.
The village has issued yet another edict to encourage compliance,
which has been ignored.
I don't think it is too much to ask, as the overgrowth of Halcyon's
expansive lawn in the dry summertime is an indisputable fire
hazard, considering that it would be simply kindling for the
catastophic bonfire of a conflagration that a fire at bennet would
become. It is wildly irresponsible to risk the safety of Millbrook's
first responders, who are awesomely dedicated volunteers, at
least because of something so prosaic as a highly preventable
brush fire that could surely become more.
The building may not be gone, and will continue to be a threat in
that regard, but that costs millions to remedy. Mowing the lawn does
not present a financial hardship, relatively.
I'd imagine the village might proceed and bill the owner, as it has
for tax assessment, fencing, etc.?
Alot of lawyers are being paid for accomplishing almost nothing tangible. Can't someone pay a guy on a John Deere for half an afternoon?

looks about ready to topple

In on the 6th and it was amazing as usual. Very horrid shape though massive collapse recently in center section. If you go wear a hard hat and bring ropes and harness if available. Small run in with police on the 9th that was unpleasent but proved pointless on there part.

cheers

schools out forever ????????

Pink Floyd coming in

the building es muerto

the big SHOCK was the collapse of the front facade and PR knows the scoop on the lack of regeneration of the old girl

the fence was up in Oct of 2011 when I was there but it doesn't stop diehards from VIEWING the old girl

rhetoric- my friends rhetoric- no falling of the walls of Jericho- yet

More tough talk about the Bennet Parcel! But not from me, but
Millbrook's mayor, who has expressed "impatience'' with the
failure of the owners of Halcyon to comply with demolition, an order
still being adjudicated in the state supreme court, a ruling that will
almost certainly uphold the VIillage code.
The day before foreclosure for back taxes, the corporation that
owns the property paid the almost $300,000 in back taxes to the
Village.Penalties of $250 per day are being accrued as well.
As Choice a property as it is, it is still not worth the cost of demo,
without a development component, hence the hesitation [refusal]
of the village to seize the property, which is highly contaminated.
{My advice-Stay The Hell Out!! That place is extremely Dangerous,
now.]
but people continue to crazily tresspass...be careful folks.

A leak in the Village water system has been traced to the Bennet Complex, where the theft of copper piping has been identified as the culprit. As the original entrance to Millbrook, Four Corners, or South Millbrook, even before Halcyon, was a nexus of roads, cow trails,
the railroad line, the road to the County Infirmary,a prominent church,
and two prestigious boarding schools from the early 18oo's.
as well as other very little known sites of great historic import,
overshadowed by the great hotel / college.
An overlay of mapping of the vicinity from different eras is absolutely fascinating.

The mayor has commited to meeting soon with the owners, but has
acknowledged that the village has no definite plan moving forward,
in light of the cost of demolition, wildly underestimated to cost
3-5 million, dollars. Yeah. Try again. It will be more.

The owner had a plan in place. It doesn't matter if you or me or anyone
didn't like it, it provided for the disposition of the problem in conjunction with a commercially viable development ostensibly
sympathetic to the site.

How in the world do you demand a corporation to spend eight million
dollars of their own money to get rid of a problem they inherited from
countless former owners, including the FDIC by the way. Why wasn't
demo compliance the big jazzy order of the day when the feds owned
it? Because they didn't want to pay either. There BROKE, just like you and me. If I owned Halcyon i'd shrug my shoulders as well, ya know?

But i have also said i would cover it in glow in the dark paint, or make it
the set of a movie. Perhaps some sort of Scoobie Doo type thing.

Just saw this complex yesterday while in the area on business. Blown away. Awed and depressed (?) at the same time. What an amazing piece of history and so in total disrepair. I talked to the locals. No one really has the story - but it has been tied up in the usual political bullsh-- for years. The locals need to get it together and do something. The MIllbrook area is beautiful - do something, people ! Sad piece of history that has been allowed to disintegrate due to greed and in-fighting of personal financial interests. Sad.

So nice to see the comment about the mandate to preserve the stone "bones" of this magnificent structure.

The massive chimneys and fire hearths make this a historical building.
Also, the fact that the house never experienced anything close to a fire in its early history (even with a bunch of a young women occupying it) is a testament to how responsible and thoughtful and conscientious home owners and operators were at the turn of the century..

The reason we have so many building codes is because of people who have no sense of responsibility or respect for the traditional hearth and our overly litigious society. It's not Millbrooks fault, but it is the fault of cheap, temporary technological "advancements" (i.e. lighting) and the lack of historical education and preservation of traditional lifestyles. This house "died" when they tried to make it into something it was never intended to be used for in order to justify profits. This house is not a failure or creepy to the appreciative eye. This home is a metaphor for our nations educational system and lack of appreciation for our American heritage.

In no way does the profile give off a spooky, Gothic vibe!

It's an absolutely enchanting structure that beckons the world weary traveler.

Thanks for preserving the memories and documentation.

Really gorgeous.

Very Grey Gardens.