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Wow, just found this thread by accident. I attended the all girls highschool (Benedictine Academy) in the old mansion in 1964. I left the following year when they closed it and opened up Paterson Catholic. Loved the old school and have fond memories of time spent there. Did the historical society win it's fight? It was a beautiful and elegant old building.
The mansion home you refer to was indeed originally most opulent! It was built by/for the Barbour family, famously of the "Barbour Mills." (19th-20th century industrialists.) Originally, the mansion/property occupied the entire tract between 11th Avenue and Broadway, and from it's 39th Street front, essentially down to the river. Out the rear of a great room was a large bow window. (Such a large, curved piece of glass was in itself, a king's ransom in the day!) It overlooked a coy pond, and a stepped/terraced yard, from which vantage and elevation, you could see NYC. Years later, the property came to be the convent school of the Benedictine Sisters, ("Benedictine Academy?") and even later, when the Sisters closed the academy, they transferred the lower parcel to the R.C.Diocese of Paterson, for the then new, Paterson Catholic Regional H.S.. (Now, the Paterson Charter School for Science & Technology?) 'Tis a shame to see it in the state it's devolved to today, but "back in it's day," it most definitely was "fit for a king/queen!" Peace
I grew up in East Paterson (now Elmwood Park) If I am not mistaken there was a lovely building on the edge of town called the Elmwood House. It had been demolished by the time I was in school. There was a shopping center consisting of A Grand Union (where my mom was employed in the corporate offices up stairs) A Walgreens, Molk Bros. Gifts and Jewelry, Canadians, Kressge's, Lobels and a few other stores. There was then a Grandway built nearby in the mid 60's. I attended Benedictine Academy graduating (the last graduating class) in 1968. The Academy was a glorious building, grand staircase, (for the Senior Class) an elevator for the more senior staff members, assemblies were held in the "parlor" with seating on the carpeted main staircase) and a beautiful grand piano with a gorgeous view of the rolling fields and property around. Such wonderful memories!
The building at 81 E. 39th St. in Paterson is owned by Youth Consultation Service (YCS) and is the Kilbarchan Residential Treatment Center. It houses emotionally disturbed teenagers. I'm a DYFS worker and I know, as I've had several clients there.
I lived there in the 70's Back then it was called Kilbarchan it was an Orphanage back then.
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