2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

Appreciate the extra info about where to find more old photos of Halcyon Hall, I went into Hudson River Valley Heritage and found a gold mine! Such a beautiful place.

I would love to explore this beautiful hallway - once I got over the jump that is

this place is truely beautiful, I so would like to explore it and think of all the wonderful history it must hold, such a shame it is falling down

im going to go see this place it seems amazing to all the entrys iv read, but i got to know is someone really watching if people r trustpassing and if so what time do you think would be good for me an my friends to go visit and get inside without geting cought.....speaking of that where can you get in without anyone seeing

I'll play with those toys.

I have the same machine and it is ashame that one has been abandoned.. Do you have any information on the matron that opened the school? My family is from that part of the world and I was wondering if there was any connection...

i have some trepidation posting, because i am in the position of not necessarily being up on all the facts; that's what happens when local newspapers go under....no local coverage , published, or leaked,
as it were.... but, here goes..

the bennet college / halcyon hall property has been under order of demolition since mid spring 2010. By the village. To the Owner.
The matter is being decided by an independent arbitrator, who will
decide the matter[whether it must be torn down immediately out of
[long overdue] compliance, in the eyes of "the law", OR -whether there
is a "case'' to be made for it's reprieve, to be selectively ? demo-ed
later, as part of.... The Blumenthal Brickmann proposal!... Which is
still alive, and probably the central defense of the owners AGAINST
immediate demolition, that is being waged in legal forums as I write...
I have obviously been totally WRONG. Rumours of the Blumenthal Brickmann proposal's demise have been Greatly Exagerrated!
By me. Not only me, BUT-On that count I am an Idiot. Mea Culpa. If I were the first to ever jump to conclusions on the topic,
i might feel a bit chastened, but... obviously... Not.
So this proposal is still the scenario, and on a strategic level, it has been fortunate for it that the economy dived, and the snagzone these
things always go through occurs now when any work is good work to anyone anywhere...EVENTUALLY Someone is going to be tearing this place down, and building Something here. Sooner than later if up to the village. Which to demand full remission for that demo would
bankrupt pretty much anyone in the post Bernie-M era, right? So let's get real. No One is going to be Owed Money to do this.Not the owner!
NOT THE VILLAGE! That's why they are demanding Demo!! It Costs Millions of Dollars to wreck somewhere like this.No matter what any municipality's Laws say. And on that count, there are Bigger Things that need to be, compelled, to.. move in the right direction, as they say,
if you want AnyThing to happen, either way.
This place will be torn down as PART OF A DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL. Period. This one was the one on the table, before the..first signs of the
decline of the American Empire, as it were... The Chinese Century,
many are now, openly, calling it.. I tend to agree with them, quietly.

If I owned this place, and had a development scenario in place,then they told me in 2010 I gotta tear it all down, at my own expense,
I'd tell the Village of Millbrook, to kiss my Dutch Irish ass. And whoever the hell else was , like ..SUING me! And I would prevail in court, too bubba. Even if i were Wrong.
I could elucidate about 5 or 6 very compelling reasons why, but I am not in the legal employ of the owners, developers, or legal counsel of Halcyon Hall... [yet?]
heh. heh...

Who knows? That may be my new schtick. We must tear down, so that we can "save".!
To Preserve, we Must Destroy.!
The Hudson Valley Society for Historic Demoltion!

There are no "sides" on whether this place will/ might/ could/ should
be torn down.I don't think their are villians, or any heroes either.
Just the simple human failures of generally good people ,from a very
lucky , interesting, and splendidly anachronistic locale, long after somewhere special like this should have lasted anyway, it seems, into our...stulted new century.

So.. how's that for irony? Are you against immediate, indiscriminate
demolition of Halcyon Hall, for whatever goddamned reason? Then
these developers, for now, are your best and only hope!. Ha ha...

Their original plan called for Some Preservation. Who knows now,
but to selectively demo Costs More
At this point i think it's just a bunch of fucking lawyers making money
off this place year after fucking year! it is hilarious!
So I am now available to the highest bidder as historic detail consultant, either side. Preserve, Destroy? It's all the same to me!
I'll bolster your case like a James Carville of Preservation...or maybe a Dick Morris of demolition, depending on ..um, your tastes, or politcal..persuasions or whatever, lol...I don't care anymore, pay me .
Forget the Possibilities:
Let's ALL collude & push the case that IS Going to Happen! All aggrieved parties will be compensated based on the merits of their individual cases anyway, some truly historically signifigant, most mundane and routine, yet serviceable in the grand scheme of millions of dollars that are gonna pour into this goatfuck, so let's everybody get a piece of the action!, THat's what lawsuits are all about! It's what they are for...It's your history too folks!!! So,Step right up! Get Litigious! [souds like a wild dance craze...]
We can't go wrong, in fact, let's ratchet up a whole fuckin hornet's nest of new, and esoteric, and expensive,
and stupid lawsuits on both "sides" to exploit
The freakin Inevitable. Why not? It's creates more work for lawyers. I love lawyers!
They Protect Us FromThe Law. I just think they gotta start spreadin the
wealth when it comes to this"Presvation/ Heritage schtick. I love the classic cinema of the 70's, but I've seen this movie before...
In Adjusted dollars, fthe legal fees squandered over the Dozens of [mostly now forgotten, many current] Lawsuits since 1977
related to this property
could have covered at least Halcyon's stableization!. Take a bite a that!
What was achieved from all that waste of money, legal expertise, etc
over the last 34 years?

Many millions spent to have Nothing, instead of millions spent to have Something. Which tells anyone who is awake Exactly what is wrong
with the values our national culture has embraced. It is embodied in the closing of schools {?!} while we unquestionably fund Permanent War. No matter who get's "elected"...
ok, [thanks motts, for
indulging my
sarcasm]

LOVE THIS PLACE INSIDE OUT!!!! A GREAT EXPLORE AND EXPERIENCE!!!!

The problem with the town is that they didn't enforce zoning laws that require property owners to maintain their properties. They just sat and watched it decay and always thought it was somebody else's problem.
Now it is the town's problem. The piper always gets paid.

41.776389,-73.699444 type into google maps for a look.

I think so. Go to google maps & type in 41.776389,-73.699444 & you will be looking down from above...

Simon has summed it up perfectly. As a former local I must say that part of the reason the Village let it get so bad was the years it has spent dealing with "restorationists" who fought tooth and nail to save something that was unsaveable. My father worked for years in the local government and although we lived and worked there since the 70's, (and no we were not wealthy we were middle class) new people, especially those from NYC, would move up and try to save the place from those of us who had been worrying and dealing with the place for years. Every time the village thought they might get somewhere, a new group of "just moved here" folks would mount a campaign to save the place. IT CANNOT BE SAVED. It's done.. Unless someone has millions of dollars to spend on rebuilding it from the foundation up just for fun, without any expectation of economic return there is nothing to do to save it. In fact it will be millions of dollars just to demolish it. Anyone friends with Bill Gates?

I went to Bennet Nursery School in the late 70's before it was moved from the top of the hill to this location. It was a wonderful place. I remember when they moved it. No the kids aren't scared of the place, when you live there and see it every day it is not scary but sad and beautiful.

I grew up in Millbrook, and have always loved this building. No one wanted it to end up like it did. At this point, those that want to "preserve" the place, do not have the money or ability to do so. They have moved to the town in more recent years and want to "save" it but don't know how. So they blame development and evil village government. The building is so extensive and so damaged, the cost to gut part and "redo" it is in the tens of millions. The options for it are to either find someone with millions and millions of dollars to "fix" it...more like take it apart and rebuild it...or unfortunatly raze it because it is a danger. I will pray for the former. I'm so happy to see photos of the inside of this beutiful place I drove by every day, and also glad the photographer is out safely. It is a very dangerous place due to the damage.

I was just there today... Took some pictures, walked around inside. There's a lot of graffiti on the walls. I definitely think the place is haunted.... Two separate people have told us that a bunch of girls from a cult hung themselves there. Does anyone have any validity to that? There was a room that had reverse pentagrams painted on the walls, and don't go in there spaypainted and pointing to a very dark hallway. It definitely seems as though a cult has been in there... Lots of graffiti, lost of weird sayings...
Does anyone have any info on the girls hanging themselves there? By the boiler room, also, I got serious bad vibes. It was a very hot day, and it felt like we walked through an air conditioner. At that point, I randomly got very nervous for no reason, and my heart started racing. Shortly after that we walked into the satanic room...