Text: Random Drone Guy
  • Home
  • My Drone Journey
    • How I Became a Part 107 Pilot
    • Moved Pages
  • Practice Videos
    • The Old House in Shandaken
    • Old Railroad Tracks
    • Roof Inspection Practice
    • Old Railroad Freight House
    • Tight Orbital Turn Practice
    • River Flying Practice
  • Videos of Old Things
    • Letchworth Village
      • History and Overview
      • Reville Hospital Building
      • Stewart Hall Building
      • Old Letchworth Village Cemetery
      • New Letchworth Village Cemetery
      • Women's Dormitory Building E
      • Whitman Hall Building 11
      • Franklin Hall Building
    • Takanassee Hotel Pool
    • An Old Wooden Billboard
    • Bush Kill Railroad Bridge
    • The Old House Revisited
    • The Red Apple Rest
  • Random Videos
    • Ascent Over Big Pond
    • Checking My Vehicle Lighting
    • Statue of Winneesook
    • East Branch Delaware River Headwaters
    • West Branch Delaware River near Walton NY
    • Lower Birch Creek Trailhead
  • Gear
    • My Autel EVO II Pro 6K
    • Drones
    • Fluorescent Drone Pilot Vests
    • Anti-Collision Lights
    • Drone Backpacks
    • Drone Pilot Log Books
    • Drone Pilot Tee-Shirts
    • Drone Pilot Hats
Envelope with at email symbol Facebook Share Button Twitter Share Button Reddit Share Button

Train to Pass your FAA Part 107 Test at Pilot Institute
Shop for drone bundles at Amazon
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. All product links on this page are monetized.

The Whitman Hall Building (Building 11) at Letchworth Village

Oblique aerial view of the abandoned Whitman Hall building at Letchworth Village in Thiells New York.

The building in this video is called both Whitman Hall and Building 11. It was built in 1915, four years after Letchworth Village opened. I'm assuming it was the eleventh building built, but maybe not. Some of the buildings were designated by letters or letter-number combinations.

Whitman Hall was used as an office building for professionals. One former staff member told me that social workers, among others, worked here.

In 2012, an urban explorer entered Whitman Hall and made a video showing confidential medical and personnel records, pill bottles, and various other items on the floor inside the building. That suggests that the building may have housed offices for medical and human resources personnel, as well. I didn't go inside the building, so I can't say what's in there now.

The building itself was built of stone that I am told was mined in local quarries, of which there were many in the Hudson Valley. Unlike many of the other buildings at Letchworth Village, Whitman Hall was built over a crawl space and does not have a basement.

This looks to me like it was a very solid, very beautiful building at one time. That's true for practically all the buildings at Letchworth. I find myself scratching my head trying to figure out why the town was never able to sell most of them. Time, neglect, and vandalism have since taken their toll on the structures; but when Letchworth closed in 1996, I'd think it would have been easy to find buyers.

Even now, after all those years of neglect and vandalism, this building's wall are straight and its roof doesn't sag. Take a look at the roof ridge. It looks as straight as the day it was built, 106 years before this video was taken. That's impressive.

Sadly, however, it's doubtful that Whitman Hall will ever see productive use again. In addition to the toll that time, neglect, and vandalism have taken on the building, it almost certainly contains asbestos that would have to be removed.

Those kind of renovations are expensive; so Whitman Hall stands here decaying, an attraction for historians, urban explorers, paranormal researchers, and the occasional drone pilot.

This video was shot with an Autel EVO II Pro 6k drone, using a PNY Pro Elite Micro SD card, and edited using DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Screen Shots from this Video

The screen shots in the gallery that follows are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license (CC BY-SA). In other words, you are free to use them pursuant to the terms of the license.

Oblique view of the front of Whitman Hall Building eleven at Letchworth Village in Thiells New York. Aerial view of the roof of Whitman Hall Building eleven at Letchworth Village in Thiells New York. Whitman Hall Building eleven at Letchworth Village in Thiells New York, partly obscured by vegetation. Whitman Hall Building eleven at Letchworth Village in Thiells New York, partly obscured by vegetation. Whitman Hall Building eleven at Letchworth Village in Thiells New York, partly obscured by vegetation. Aerial view of the roof of Whitman Hall Building eleven at Letchworth Village in Thiells New York.

Special thanks to Idri and Mother Rita for setting me straight and correcting me with regard to the history and other facts surrounding Letchworth Village.


Buy me a coffee tip button with a picture of the author with a bird on his shoulder.
buymeacoffee.com/rjmweb

Special Offers
Get an Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
Try a Kindle Unlimited Membership Plan

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Legal and privacy policies.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. All product links on this page are monetized.