2,174 Comments for Bennett School for Girls

wowowoowowowowoowwo i loveee ittttt

i would love to transform this into like a huge house, that would be gorgeous

The Millbrook Village Board has voted to issue the negative declaration allowing the Blumenthal development to proceed as
presented. For all intents and purposes,
this means the demolition of Halcyon HAll.
The only real mitigative stipulation by the board was 5 foot sidewalks instead of
4 foot sidewalks, and that was not even out of
compliance with the Americans With
Disabilities Act.!

Opposed Interested parties have expressed astonishment at the vote in light of the
compellingly comprehensive presentation
against the particulars of this development proposal. Be careful who ya vote for, folks,
somewhere around the millenilum, that
vote of yours DID suddenly matter, Huh? ho ho ho...now live with it

Former Mayor Don Briggs, under whom this plan first manifested, was an enthusiastic cheerleader for this development plan,
and commented favorably on the resolution , almost as if he were still mayor.
Just my impression. The current mayor has not been vocal at all, even after promising to
update the public on a monthly basis, and
failing to, even once in seven {7} months.

THe Blumenthal plan provides for SOME
preservation of a tiny fraction of Halcyon Hall,
specifically the stonework foundation, the extant chapel property, some part of the eastern tower wing[ most of which will undoubtedly be almost new construction]

The plan calls for all of this to be conglomerated into some postmodern
jumbling together of the very elements that are being demolished to make room for the
psuedo Tudor condos evoking the real architecture that is making way for it in the first place.

AS a preservationist I try to preserve when
and where possible. The plan approved
PROVIDES EXACTLY FOR SOME OF THIS PRESERVATION! IF THEY DO WHAY HAS BEEN AGREED UPON IN THEIR OWN PLAN.

I emphasize to those opposed to demolition
that the AGREED UPON, IN THIS PLAN,
provisions for SOME preservation of this
site, IS THE BEST that can be hoped for.
I Don't Like it, but it is too far gone to save.
I've been there not long back, and it is just too far gone. Believe me I know from
a structural point of view...

BUT...
NOW that this development plan goes forward, let's makle sure they do what they agreed to, BLUMENTHAL & THE VILLAGE
BOARD...at least in regards to the token
preservation of Millbrook's unique physical heritage.

I like all of your black and white pics...But i LOVE your color pics way more

I went to Bennett College the year it closed - 1976-77. It was quite sad, as at the end of the year all the students were called for a meeting and told the college was in financial difficulty but planned to reopen in the fall. Perhaps many students families made other plans over the summer and enrollments were insfufficient to reopen in the fall. I head the announcement about 1 week before school was to resume. Students were told records would be transferred to another school closer to NYC and their credits would transfer there. I went to Buffalo to finish my 2 year degree instead.

Many years later I learned Bennett had closed due to inability to repay NY state Dormatory Authority loans taken out on newer co-ed dorms and when enrollments declined the state would not offer any flexability. This caused the closing of the College. A nearly identical fate nearly occurred to the college I eventually completed a BFA degree from - Cazenovia College. Only for them, the town business people came together and helped the college regroup. kholden@twcny.rr.com

Pat ....thanks for the above info....Please update whenever possible. Like I said in my previous post. I was never a student there (heck I was only like 6 or 7 yrs old in the mid-70s...) but because of Motts photos I can learn about this place and many others. Old homes and buildings all had previous 'lives' so to speak before they became abandoned like they are now. I love learning the 'history' of such places. So thank you to all that have written there stories here. They are noticed and much appreciated. Memories never fade.....Thanks much.....:)
I hope the structure or some of it can be re-used in some way. If the buildings are too far gone to be saved that is. Maybe they can make a monument to Bennett's school? The B & B would've been a great idea...but that should've happend not too long after it closed in 77. Its (the buildings) have been sitting way too long now (for renovation that is)....and I'm sure costs would be sky high ....so many upgrades needed really. Sad but so true. Either way , Pat, please keep us all updated when you can. Take care.....

the millbrook board held its' 4th and final meeting to determine the fate of the Brickmann Blumenthal proposal to develop the Bennett College property.
Attended by a little under 100 people, only
2 people spoke in favor of the proposed development. Former mayor Don Briggs,
under whose term the plan was initially presented, made his case that it was a good
plan in the best interests of Millbrook.
Local contractor and builder Skip Ciferri,
whose ancestors built the stonework of Halcyon, also expressed a desire to see the plan move forward. Unfortunatly, unlike the former mayor, Skip felt the need to excoriate
dissenters, labeling them as "from outside the village" and imposing
'their own elitist view".

The counter argument against the development proposal was more effective
this meeting. 25 people alloted their 3 minute
slot to billionaire Oakleigh Thorne, whose
ancestral farm neighbors the Bennett property to the west. Thorne used the 45 minutes to present a comprehensive
argument against the project, based on
economic, environmental, infrastructure,
and quality of life issues.This included a
56 page slide show, as well as reports from
consultants Morris Associates.
Alot of residents of the existing condominium
community adjacent to the property in question also spoke against the plan. That
development from 1984 converted the
existing dormitories on the Bennet campus.

The meeting was actually very detailed
as far as the specifics of this development's negative impact on the village of Millbrook.
I have not the time nor space to get into those specifics, except to say that they were fairly thorough. The way previous meetings
were conducted, there was no opportunity to respond or counter SPECIFICS of the proposal. This should have been allowed
from the begiining, which seems why Thorne's presentation was necessary to
at least hold the board accountable to those specifics as it decides the fate of the Bennet
Property.

As of tonight, Halcyon Hall is still standing.

Thanks again Motts, you Rock....
'

I worked for a company that mfr and repaierd these. They also had a similar machine called ADDRESSOGRAPH. The last of these were made in the late 1970s
Wonderful positioning

TRISH.
I may have been a classmate of yours. I was a freshman in 1963. My room was in the upper floor of Halcyon Hall - a very dark and grim room whose window was enclosed by outside walls on both sides, so the view was like looking down an alley.

My roommate and I had nothing in common. She was popular. I was not. I started in the foreign language, secretarial , study abroad program and quickly learned I couldn't read or write short hand or type fast and had no desire to be a secretary in Spain.

At that time, Bennett was unapologetically a "ring by spring or your money back school" for the very rich but not bright enough for seven sisters ivy league schools.

My first semester Dr. Timothy Leary had just bought the estate next door, and the faculty totally lost it. The whole student body was assembled in the auditorium and was promised instant expulsion of any student found anywhere near the Leary estate.

The faculty should have kept their mouths shut. Most Bennett students didn't know Lysergic acid from stomach acid, and issuing dire warnings about going near the Leary estate was like making a public address announcement to check the place out.

I only lasted about six weeks at Bennett. I wasn't rich or social , and I was looking for a education not a husband.

hi, all. i'm a reporter with a local newspaper and would like to do a story on this building, specifically interviewing people who have a history with the college and the people who formed/are still a part of Friends of Halycon Hall. If interested, please contact me!
n01732160@newpaltz.edu

Wow...

It looks like the walls are on fire.

Almost looks like those shots taken of the Titanic.

I'll say it again--this place is MASSIVE. Wow...

Amazing shot! Kind of creepy for some reason, but neat.

That place was massive, seriously. Amazing pic, too, Motts.