2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

why thanks nancy...i probably don't deserve that high a praise though, as
i was one like everyone else in and from Millbrook who kind of let all this happen, really...
but, saving places like these is HARD, and Almost always impossible. Motts SO fuckin Rocks for reminding us, but also for
giving us a little glimmer, in the loss, of the things that last forever ...

That national economic circumstances kiboshed the condo mania
that was proposed for the site, at least, is good for Millbrook, in my opinion.
Very little of that proposal would have gone to local contractors, and if
so, then the usual suspects. Anyone who denies this... welll...
actually, you probably know where to reach me, lol.....so, whatever...

Resulting business for the village from the temporary jobs would spike a bit, but not long before the village as a municipality would
see insane, Westchester-like inflation of taxes to pay for the state mandated infrastructure, education, etc. required upon the
new expansion of the village population. It is SO such a diminishing
return..at least this specific proposal for this specific town..


Do we have to ruin everywhere? Are there some places where we can just say no to making sure it becomes just like everywhere else?
Can we just let some fucking places BE, Voluntarily!?

Don't worry, eventually Millbrook will face this same scenario all over again. This developer, that developer. This mayor, that mayor.
I have watched it go on for decades.

I have watched this place be used over and over again in collusion by players in local government, banking, and real estate, to further their own agendas.
over half the time their scenarios go down in oblivion, but it never seems to stop them from hitching up again. I continue to be amazed at how much even I underestimate them all.

Honestly, other than letting it beautifully rot forever, i wouldn't mind
watching it explode , like something out of a Ridley Scott movie.
To smithereens, like they say. That would be cool.

I'll say...Pat, you are the greatest - what a loyal guardian of Halcyon....

Thanks for all the updates on this school building. I hate it that old buildings are slowly going away....its sad when they aren't used for other purposes than just left to die a slow death.....keep us updated ok....Pat.....I love reading everyone's comments esp former students and teachers etc......very interesting .......Thanks so much!!

That playground is part of a building owned by Cardinal Hayes Home for Children. It was once a nursery school, then part of the Cardinal Hayes School, and now belongs to the work program for Cardinal Hayes. The college is interesting to look at while we work, and it's impossible to go in there now to explore because some kids were caught trying to set it on fire. Now we see patrol cars there constantly.

With a building that old and in that condition, I would suggest for anyone who goes inside to wear a good dust mask or respirator because chances are that place is LOADED with asbestos!

Just looking at the titles of these pics...

How much you have changed and developed the view of everything!!!

It's amazing...

I had a elevator drop on me i was terrified

Hi Tom! Just wondering, were there any old tennis courts on these or any other grounds that you have explored? The reason why I'm asking is that I love to play tennis, and I'm always amazed when I see a tennis court that has been overgrown and neglected-it's a shame.

I love the light fixtures, and the clock.

when being there in Oct i noticed the one bay window a cattywanpus but upon relooking at my pics i see both of them a kilter- hope she holds on till Oct - I feel a kin to the old school having been watching it since 1985 whe both of us were in better shape actually I looked and both of my bay windows are collasping

The piper always gets paid. Now the town will have to foot the demolition bill. It ignored the responsibility of protecting its own landmark. Instead of forcing the previous owners to maintain their property, it turned a blind eye. Letting it be someone else's problem now has become its problem. Three cheers for the piper.

I found out who Tim Leary was...hehe i looked up the net...silly me! however i didnt realise he was famous. I thought he was just an ordinary teacher, at first I thought he was a jock that all the girls were after....my how my imagination ran wild....

i would really love to see pics of this wonderful place in the fifties, sixties and seventies. id like to see what the students looked like, did they wear a uniform? id love to see pics of the inside of this wonderful place in the same eras. do any exist? how can i view them??? maybe someone could email me some...im so intrigued by this place now....stevehussey@live.com.au

yeah, halcyon hall is still standing. i drove by it last saturday night in fact. i was at the bar with one of Millbrook's recent former mayors;
We talk, but never about Halcyon Hall. It is very good for us and the people around us that we do Not!!

It is just as well, as there is nothing to discuss, really; The development plan went down the tubes, for many
of the previously discussed reasons, and some newer ones; our current
general economic conditions seem to have been the final nail, though...
no one is going to build condos that no one will [or can] buy!

halcyon's demise will now be the village's [considerable] problem;
it is ready to fall down in several places, and when there are partial collapses, Millbrook WILL then move forward with at least partial demolition, i can assure you of that.
i've said it before, but, the place does not have much longer

i will go out on yet another limb, and say between summer and fall
of this year, the double bay windows on the central front facade will
collapse. i honestly don't think this building will remain much longer

still,....... you got to admire the tenacity, if a building can be said to have such a quality....

let it fuckin rot, beautifully, forever, i say.....

Gael or Pat...please can you tell me more about this man Tim Leary. Im reading alot about this guy from the remarks and am now fascinated by who he was. Was he the resident drugs supplier for sex. ?? what became of him?? please tell Im very interested