Hauppauge Village Hall becomes a casualty of the expansion
of Route 347.
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| Hauppauge Village Hall sign. Photo courtesy of Paul Borowski. |
***This article was originally published on the website Smithtown Patch in October of 2010.
Residents of the Smithtown/Hauppauge area found Hauppauge Village Hall a sight as welcoming as their own home. On October 1, the building, located at the intersection of Routes 347 and 454, was demolished due to the 347 widening project.
Residents of the Smithtown/Hauppauge area found Hauppauge Village Hall a sight as welcoming as their own home. On October 1, the building, located at the intersection of Routes 347 and 454, was demolished due to the 347 widening project.
Paul Borowski, who headed up attempts to save the structure,
pointed out, "It wasn't an elaborate place, but it was the
place."
Since 1977 the hall was owned by the St. Thomas More’s Knights
of Columbus. Besides serving as a meeting spot for the organization and local Boy
Scout troops, it was a popular location for birthday and christening parties.
Built in 1887, the building was originally owned by the
Smith family and in earlier days was used by the Perseverance Lodge of Good
Templars. It was 1931 when it was purchased by the Hauppauge Village Hall Association.
According to local historian Noel Gish, it was even used as a school for a
short period in the 20s.
Gish said, “It served the community very well.”
From the mid 1940s to the 1980s, the Mr. and Mrs. Club of
Hauppauge used the hall as a meeting place. The community and social club was
responsible for many of the improvements made to the structure. When the group
first started meeting there, there was only a coal stove, no running water and
the bathroom was outdoors.
Gish said in 1959 Lee Koppelman met with residents at the
hall to discuss the master plans for Hauppauge. Here plans unfolded for the
community’s schools, fire department and the industrial park.
When the Knights sold the building to the state in the end
of last year, Borowski and Gish approached the state about saving the hall and
enlisted the help of Suffolk County Legislator John M. Kennedy and Senator
Brian Foley. The state was willing to donate the building if a location could
be found for it by June 1.
There was hope that the Hauppauge School District would be
able to place the building on school property. While the district was open to
the idea, state regulations inhibited the move.
There was also an interest in moving it to Blydenburgh Park
or Sayville. However, despite private engineers claiming the building was
stable enough to move, Suffolk County engineers deemed it unstable.
Borowski and Gish were able to save around 200 bricks from
the hall as well as the Hauppauge Village sign. The plan is for the pieces to
be displayed at Hauppauge High School.
Now Hauppauge Village Hall, once an example of our rich local
history, is an example of how we can lose a bit of our past.
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| Hauppauge Village Hall in 2010 before it was demolished. Photo courtesy of Paul Borowski. |
***This article was originally published on the website Smithtown Patch in October of 2010.
