Felice- I don't "want' to "do" anything with
"the place" as you refer to it
{I assume you mean Halcyon, rather than my slightly off-topic preceding post referring to
an architecturally related site;] I merely
Advocate Preservation, Where Possible.
Anyone reading any of my preceding posts
as CAREFULLY as I have tried to WRITE them will see that I have commended the developer
where warranted in their attempts to do just that, and that I am as informed as Anyone as
to the UNSALVAGEABLE state of most of these buildings.
Your cute couplet about "having the pesos
to have the say sos" {sic}, speaks for itself
in regarding the base mentality of not just
the mindset supportive of this particular
issue of development, but of the sadly
myopic attitude in Millbrook in general regarding its' physical, social, and historical
legacy.
If it is a wealth based meritocracy
determining local public policy that you
advocate, then touche'...you have that in spades.Congratulations. What is so
objectionable then,about an expression
of Advocacy for Preservation,Where Possible,
for this, or any other future endangered local site of
architectural or cultural signifigance?
Particularly here in a forum dedicated to
the appreciation and lamentation of places
that are considered artistic, neglected or special for WHATEVER reason?
The fact is, if i had a "peso' to spare, the
last thing i would do is spend even a fraction
of it in the desperatley pretentious, plastic shithole of a
"community" that passes for Millbrook these days. Who could blame any smart developer
for sensing a great opportunity to cash in on
an upscale country town hell-bent on selling out what makes
it special in the first place? Millbrook is a smart
developers' moist, wet dream orgy. It is a marriage made in Heaven. Enjoy the wedding by all means, 'cuz the marriage itself is spring -loaded to be rough for you, me, or anyone else
invested in any way with the outcome of
the current scenario, whatever any of our opinions, public or private.
Obviously my extended family has spent more
than a few "pesos" over the last fourteen decades
building what is Millbrook in the first place.
So you'll forgive my current lack of veneration for the
wealth-rated pecking order expected, relative
to commentary,{ or even opinion it would seem.}

Millbrook has lost another architectural wonder,
a "sister' building, as it were, to HAlcyon Hall:
the monumental medieval barn on the
Hitchcock estate burned to the ground yesterday, leaving only the giant fieldstone walls. No people or animals were hurt or
killed. It apparently burned for days, requiring a massive emergency response county wide. Besides
Halcyon Hall ,it is one of the largest buildings in Millbrook.
It was constructed in the 1890's by
the architect and builders of Halcyon Hall
for one of the original investors of the
hotel. Charles F Dieterich was a German born
industrial magnate who came to America
penniless but eventually founded Union Carbide. The estate he built was perhaps the
masterpiece of country residential design by
it's architect.
In the 1960's it was the headquarters of fomer Harvard psychiatrist
Timothy Leary, where he spearheaded his
mission of popularizing and promoting
the quest for mind expansion through the
use of psychedelic drugs, specifically LSD-25.
THis barn was originally the foundation
structure of what was planned to be a
full blown medieval germanic castle. After
plans for this were abandoned, Dieterich made it
a cowbarn instead. The late Millbrook
historian Carmine DiArpino rightly described
it as "the most improbable bovine residence
in {America}". FRom Bangall Road it looked
like a freakin' cathedral rising out of the hills.
Amazingly, Halcyon has been a tinderbox
for years without any fire incident, despite
being overun for decades by vandal idiots,
careless fools, and known pyromaniacs.
Drunk punk rok skatboarders would light
fires in it's unfunctional fireplaces years
ago. Yet a solid, virtually all stone mega
structure comparable in size and pedigree
disappears, in a scenario that seems
unlikely compared to the fire-waiting-to-happen that has been Bennet/HAlcyon
since 1977.Murderous irony...
I predict the Hitchcock brothers will rebuild.
THe Stone is intact. A good portion of the
tax arrangement on this vast estate is tied
directly to its use as an agriculturally active
property of historical/ architectural signifigance.
It would be a shame to lose this piece of
Europe on American soil.

not really sure, obviously soon. the front of
the building is starting to cave in. I would
guess they would like to start pouring new
foundations in the spring, and there is
obviously alot to demo before they can do that. as well as
terraforming the new layout, etc. which could be done in winter. I am guessing the very
latest they could do this and be on schedule
would be early January. So perhaps between now and Christmas. But who knows. Things
like this move slow, and common sense would dictate that after the holidays would be a typical time when it would not draw as much
negative attention or coverage.
Also demo-ing in the hot weather is alot more
unpleasant and difficult. so...soon...

she is a comin down.....

i've been seeing photos of halcyon on tons
of sites now, a zillion in the last year alone,
none of them approach the kickass-ness
of Motts's , not even close.

Blumenthal / Brickmann Corporation has negotiated a contract with Contento Company
to perform the demolition of Halcyon Hall.

transcripts and records of the college were tranferred to another college, i forget...
i want to say Haverford?i am unsure, but
i will try to look it up. i know that they were
saved, though, in repository at another college.