(As written ca. 2000)
Luckily this
building is still in fairly good shape on the outside. Most of the basement
entrances are boarded up, and most ground floor accessible windows are
boarded up as well. That’s nice, as it will deter most folks from trying
to get in, and more importantly, keep out the weather. But unfortunately
the current owner seems more interested in keeping people out than protecting
the building from the elements. This building is obviously in good shape
and poses no danger to anyone who would walk inside. There is vandalism
inside, most of the offending damage being done to the many windows in
the building. But the broken windows on the upper floors aren’t being replaced
or boarded up. Keeping the rain out of these floors is the most important
thing about preserving this building. But the current owner must not think
so. If the company can tear the building down and build homes, they’ll
be just as happy.
Foreshadowing
the key of constructing megamalls today, Briarcliff Lodge is a rambling
building, full of angles and extensions. The point is to not let a person
know how far they have to walk to get to the other side. Otherwise, a person
will complain about how far a walk it is when they see the distance to
the other end. (Although this factor is probably more due to the siting
of the building, and its having been built in stages). But unlike the boxes
being built today, the roofline at Briarcliff Lodge is in the pointed style,
full of dormers and gables. This style is a personal favorite, as opposed
to some of the more classical designs being constructed at the same time
as the Lodge.
The Lodge has
four floors, and features a seven floor wing in the rear. The rear wing
was added in 1912, and underwent interior renovation in the early 1980s.
The north wing was also an addition, but dating to the days of the original
hotel. All in all, the Lodge features approximately 225 rooms, plus 132
bathrooms, many more closets, approximately 49 fireplaces, and 2 elevators,
one of which is strangely frozen between floors.
The main front
of the building is the east side. The porte cochere was once connected
to a balustrade walkway, but that has disappeared. The first floor features
brick construction on a stone foundation. The first and second floors are
flush with the exterior wall, and the roofline slopes up from there. The
third and fourth floors have many dormer windows, although there are gables
on the west and east side that are four floors. On the east side is a port
cochere and a one floor projection known as the “Oak Room.” The south end
of the building once had a pergola, but that was enclosed, and a modern
library was added next to it. Next to the library is water tower maintained
by the Briarcliff Department of Public Works. Also of note is a small concrete
shelter east of the Lodge, buried in the hillside. Today it is surmounted
by a metal railing, with benches nearby (and a few old bicycles laying
about), but in the days of the Lodge, this bunker was actually the first
tee of the golf course.
Of special note
is the proliferation of wildlife at the campus since The King’s College
has closed. Being at one of the higher points in the area, the campus must
have been home to hawks for a long time. Today they nest above the water
tower, next to the cellular phone antennae, and swoop just a few feet above
the head of a visitor walking up the fire escape at the south end of the
Lodge. A sharp scream lets the visitor know whose territory he is in. Turkeys
have been seen in groups, wandering about the hillside below the Lodge.
The campus can be quite a peaceful and beautiful place, despite the sad
and neglectful conditions of the buildings.
All photographs taken
February 9, 2000.
The abandoned guardhouse and south entrance gate.
"The King's College" has been blacked out with spray paint on the sign
at left.
Briarcliff Lodge, east front showing porte cochere.
Briarcliff Lodge, at the north end.
Briarcliff Lodge. This one floor extension on the east side contains the
"Oak Room."
Briarcliff Lodge, showing the 1912 addition (men's dorms) on the west front.
Briarcliff Lodge, gable on west front.
Briarcliff Lodge, west front.
Briarcliff Lodge, west front. Broken windows in the "Game Room."
Briarcliff Lodge, west front, north wing.
Gallery 2 - For interior photos of Briarcliff Lodge.
This page copyright © 2000 by Robert J.Yasinsac.
All rights reserved.
These images cannot be copied or reproduced without permission
from Robert Yasinsac.
