2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

the first of october always seems a good time to hoist a cold one,
and I'll drink to just about anything, ....still i got a feeling that
not a damn thing is going to happen here come Oct 1st.
the village cannot seem to follow through on any thing they have said
when it comes to the Bennet Complex.They are still in a bind about
perimeters for a "safety fence", ostensibly for teardown, but implied
to be in the interest of public safety, in other words, to deter the
wanton tresspassing the site is wildly infamous for.

suggested 100 ft perimeters are impossible in the back of the complex, adjacent to the existing condominium complex. To all
you tresspassers, this area is one of the more architecturally interesting,
at least on the exterior. Take some photos!! This part of Halcyon has been only rarely
seen online.Probably because it is where you are likeliest to be
rousted by law enforcement. But, hey I'd love to see photos,
i haven't been to that part of Halcyon in years, and I'm feeling downright Nostalgic just about now, summer nights, and all.....

the fencing issue is being raised to imply not only the legal implications of
a safety/security fence, but the hackle that will enevitably be raised by the actual demolition, and rightly so. Halcyon Village abuts the
original building at the service areas of the back of Halcyon, and the
impending or inevitable demo/collapse/disposition of this discarded wonder will be a major concern, to say the least

i'd prefer a convergence of ALL of my scenarios: encase the Victorian
hulk in Glow In The Dark paint, until Halloween, , then do a time elapsed film of it being struck by lighting and /or exploded as part of some extremely stupid big budget movie. I might be wrong, but i think it could make everyone feel better about everything! but then again,
i am an optimist, believe it or not

obviously what alot of people want is just the lightning strike, right?

to me that is a wildly irresponsible position to put the people
who'd respond to such a calamity into, but, hey, we all live under
the gun, right?

wanderer, stax, motts, and all, i always look forward to your
commentary and insight here on opacity. cheers!

guess we 'll find out and will tell U when I get there to see the FInality however U can be sure that Pa t nd I will still beat our gums over this for awhile

We be the first to see the sun on October the 1st here in the New Zealand so demolition will be 12 hrs after we raise our wairy bodies from the fart sack.Thanx to all the people all ova this world that has made good reading on this site in a passion for the past that time is slowly taking from us.Its all about the golden dollar and to be honest it costs a fortune to keep to the same standards as our fathers did.Over here not so long ago we had the leaky building phase (Hey Guys The Builders Of Tomorrow) yip get there chance to make there mark on the world,or a chance for the sharks to rip good honest people out of their money WTF.If we can make a dollar on the side,then bugger the consequences,No1 is all that matters.1st Oct its the 2nd day of my 4 on 4 off shift,Will mark it on the calender and be having a drink along with many others who have stuck together with MOTTS and Pat R,Wanderer and many others.CHEERS Guys,TIME HAS NO FRIENDS AYE.

thanx -my visit there is Oct 5&6 maybe I should get there sooner and bring my lawn chair and surgery mask - this'll be something else
can't imagine it finally going down !!!!!!!!!!!!! your donut run remark is very funny and really thought the place was SECURE had me almost going OOOOOOh ! love your affront to the local mandates - HAH - I'll be sitting there with my own drink

Millbrook officials have declared that Halcyon Hall is now in
"a state of emergency", whatever that means. The village board
passed a resolution declaring that the owners/ and or developers
of the [still very much alive] condo proposal must pay to secure fencing
around the property, or the village would do so, and charge the owner the cost on their next tax bill.
The developers have said "Nah...." The owner will probably
just pay that fee as the ongoing cost of doing business as usual.
It's what i would do, too.
The village talked tough about fencing it all off within 48 hours,
and declaring that there are 2 [two] police officers who patrol the
grounds 24 hours a day.
I can assure you that is Malarkey, of the Millbrook variety. Those
edicts were issued over a month ago, and the property has no fence
around it, allowing yours truly to visit on a dramatic early morning,
without any inteference or sighting of these intrepid guardians;
would they be on the public payroll? if so, you should get your money back folks. Or maybe they were just on a donut run. In any event, no one
has ever stopped anyone from going here, if they really want to find a way.. Which I would recommend against, not just for legal reasons,
but the fact that it is extremely hazardous to do so. The place really is
very very unsafe.

The village board appealed to the attending press [does that really exist anymore?] to publicize the danger of tresspassing here.
They claim to be trying to counter the signifigant online sourcing
of Halcyon as an underground exploration locale {- Opacity freakin
RULES!!! lol....] and want to emphasize how risky it is now to tresspass here.

I agree with them.

With demo officially slated for October 1st, 2011, neither the owner
nor developer have filed legal permits to commence demolition of
Halcyon Hall.

Fine by me. I love magnificent ruins.

They are tearing it down but they have to be careful because of all the asbestos.

Lisa, Timothy Leary was one of the psychedelic drug leaders of the 1960's. He was into LSD. He was a very controversial figure. Just Google his name. He owned a place in Millbrook in the 1960's and he died in 1996.

Resented any suggestion of insult aimed at his crippled friend.

thank you for the refraining of too many expletives - my being a female senses were not tooo offended - to Larry- maybe the Millbrook Independent will send you the article and pic if you contact a reporter the incident was in the June 15 edition and they kindly sent me the info i do not how to download info or I'd send it to you

yes wanderer my friend, i bet it will still be standing for your
october journey, or perhaps you will be around for it's scheduled teardown? we should meet up for a drink!

the ''collapse" so far is fairly small, i would not go so far as to call it contained

I personally just do not believe in prophecy, religious, political,
social, occultistic. whatever...And I am Guilty of engaging in exactly that when it comes
to the ongoing demise/status of this Landmark. But who can say?
I don't think anyone knows what is going to happen, unless they are
going to make it happen, and they are probably smart enough
not to give their opinion, like i do, recklessly, and to my detriment.

I honestly believe they are simply waiting for a lightning strike,
of the legitimate variety. Or the other kind.?
COMMENTING ON ALL OF THIS, is now costing me .
it has impacted me negatively, in ways that i am coming to grips
with now professionally, to post on Opacity, But I think anyone who might have their ass in a twist about anything I may bloviate about
here, already knows exactly Who Pat Ratchet is in the first place, and
whoever might have their ass in a bunch about whatever i pop off about, probably already knows what i would tell them to their face
anyway, and in many cases, already have. In a Gentlemanly way,
Of Course. Until i get ramparted up against people who are not
gentlemanly, in spirit or style. Then it is just irresistable to
post onto Mott's badass, nakedly honest forum, and say what we all know is true anyway.So I really don't care. Anyone who tries to
marginalize my enterpriise and sometimes take credit for what is not their own research, is already being disregarded, because I no longer
need what they could have provided;and didn't, others, on the fence. I appreciate
their raw data, and envision some eventual collaboration.
It may not necessarily be who or what people might think I refer to
in these terms
But make no mistake that my project is the abso-fucking-lute
thoroughly definitive account of the topic at hand, in ways that you cannot imagine, and frankly in ways i myself could not have imagined.
I got a little bit of a way with words, and this story writes itself, baby,
so you add up the age, and do the math. But that is even before the holy grail of the topic, just opened up , like a rain of gold from the heavens themselves, a treasure delivered. Get as academic as you want,
you can't get this stuff there

the smart move for some of you would be to get on board, maybe in a way that would elevate your own position{s}, rather
than try to compete, and miss the train.
Many authorities , frankly, more esteemed than youreslves, already have, enthusiastically. It would be mutually
beneficial, for you.....or, whatever,,,it happens without you. Which I would prefer
not to prefer. If that makes sense. I'd prefer to serve the topic,
and complete the historical record. A bit of this post goes out
to who knows exactly what i'm talking about. To anyone else it probably sounds arcane, self important, and fairly stupid. Which in many ways it really is...whatever...it has worked before, why change now?
I appreciate your indulgence Motts, more than i can sarcastically
acknowledge, but it has been too effective for me to resist.
My admittedly smartass delivery should not be misinterpreted.
I just seem to identify with Opacity as place where ...

You have gotten away with something. And take risks to do so.
Far more than posting about it. But to get away with anything,
means nothing , in light of what has been taken from all of us,
which is our physical and social heritage. You have managed
to come through that with a body of work that manages to create
a new heritage, that is beyond commemoration. Your photos
are compelling on all of these levels, from documentary to
acaemic. But there real appeal and continual attraction, is their
own contained artistic sense of contemplation, unencumbered by
the considerable hardship and endeavour required
to make them real in the first place

I would posit that i still would not change my half decade of ranting,
besides maybe cleaning up my language, thank you wanderer for reminding me ...we may never beat these swine, but we don't have
to join them but often, only the right word, is the right word?

the real hero here is Motts, I am overdue in my continual thanks/apology, for what you do, and for letting me get away with
Freakin murder on your site [see, I'm getting better, trying not to swear..]

I've tried to follow alot of your links, from what i can gather here and there, you have an asshole like pat ratchet on just about all of your
signifigant photographed properties!

Please do not stop what you do, to me it is a Fr##$%^&ing;
artistic revolution.

OK!

Does anyone have a recent photo since the collapse? I knew the old girl was sagging in the center. The most recent pic I had looked grotesque and very unstable.

ws told by one of the reporters it should be standing for my trip in Oct but it would be greaaaaaat if some more happened during my visit - I like the phosphouresent paint- a giant glowing orb to be seen from outer space -again nix the expletives

hey wanderer, i have a subscription, but they never send me my paper

i have a feeling though, that they don't have anything worth reading about
on the topic, as they don't have any answers to any of this, any more
than the Village, or the owners, or you or I for that matter.

They can decree October, like some kind of Rapture prediction
all they want, right? Who's going to pay?
Are there behind the scenes deals being made?
The Village cannot pay.They have attempted to cover their ass by
condemning and ordering demo. Fair enough. When a higher
authority than the Village municipality is compelled to act based
on an immediate danger, maybe then you might see movement?
Who knows? How do you compel the owner to spend millions
to do this, without a guarantee of revival of the development
proposed? More lawsuits? It seems like the dozens of lawsuits
through the decades continue, and people just Pay for THAT...
pay the fines, whatever....Just the Cost of Doing Business

And then do whatever the hell is in their own best interests.
Which is what makes sense. That is what people do.

Maybe they are hoping for a bolt of lightning, decreed by Zues,
directly from Mount fuckin Olympus, who the hell knows?

I really prefer to let it Rot. I am totally serious. I think it looks cool.
I saw it in the early dawn mist this past weekend. It looked cinematic as hell. Just a scenic view.
I like ruins. But then I don't have to live next to it. But I also don't have any realistic ideas.

I have plenty of really fun stupid ideas.
How about fill and encase the thing in concrete, like Chernobyl.?
But make the exterior look like a sand castle.It would be like a
Millbrook version of Mt Rushmore.

Or use helicopters to douse the whole thing in phosphouresecent
glow in the dark paint. It will the scariest looking house ever.
Think big, like Spielberg or Ridley Scott There is a ton of cash to be
made out of this hulk, yet!! Where the hell are America's top film
location scouts.

I have many stooopid ideas, but they are all better to spend money on
than giving it to a bunch of freakin hump lawyers. Like, let it rot, or
shell out the cash to tear it down already! The whole legal aspect to this situation is a joke, the owner could easily claim selective enforcement after the village's failure to enforce code, for..DECADES.

so i don't think anyone involved at all is in any position at all to tell anyone else they Have to Do Anything really. Which explains the stalemate that exists. The lawyers have a field day, nothing gets done,
and everyone pats themselves on the back that they've complied with
"'the law"

They can try to adhere to the letter of the law [they can't] or even the spirit of the law [they won't] but in the meantime..

it's up to Gravity, baby!!....[or should that be down to gravity?]

can someone tell me who this timothy leary is? thank you

Beautiful, almost dreamlike photo of a bygone place from a bygone age.