THE PULSE | NOVEMBER 2025 ISSUE
NEW BUILDING BRIDGES PAST AND FUTURE ON THE HARVEY CAMPUS When students turn off Route 22 and onto the Harvey campus, they are now welcomed by a modern complex of red-painted wooden buildings linked by a glass walkway, replacing what was once a 19th century house and barn. Approved by the board of trustees and managed by Head of School Mr. Knauer and Director of Finance and Operations Mr. Brooks-Barr, the project creates new administrative offices on the Harvey campus for the advancement, business, admissions, and marketing and communications teams. The Weil House and Barn project has been in development for nearly a decade, with the idea growing out of surveys and focus groups from the school community. The COVID-19 pandemic halted progress, but ground officially broke at Homecoming Oct. 21, 2023, and Harvey opened the space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 4, 2025. The property has an extensive history, originally owned by the proprietors of Wells Fargo before being purchased by the Weil family in 1929. In 1959, when Harvey was forced to vacate its Hawthorne facilities to make way for a new highway interchange, alumnus Frank Weil ’44 offered a portion of the land to the school. Former Head of School Barry Fenstermacher resided in the Weil farmhouse for 30 years, though the building’s failure to meet local standards later prevented his successor, Mr. Knauer, from taking residence there. “We wanted to remain historical but also be forward facing to the future,” Mr. Knauer said, elaborating on the objectives for the project’s design. He credited project architect Robert Siegel P’22 with helping to create a modern aesthetic while preserving the building’s original framework. He also pointed to the town of Katonah’s involvement, noting that local zoning, wetlands, and preservation committees all reviewed the project before it could move forward.
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By Logan Kreisberg
“We’re imagining it as a place of gathering,” Mr. Knauer said. “A place for alumni, parents, art exhibits, presentations, readings, maybe even a theater workshop.” The relocation of administrative offices will make more space available for student use on the main campus, Mr. Knauer adds. While some administrators plan on maintaining satellite offices, areas such as the former admissions suite in Sylvan Hall will now be open for student use during the academic day.
Senior Logan Kreisberg taking advantage of the new conference room. Photo taken by senior Jesse Baron.
Despite its fresh coat of paint, the complex retains traces of the Weil family’s days inhabiting the property, with barn wood, cow-shaped cupola, and original hand-hewn wooden beam remaining intact. Still, it has been modernized with ADA-compliant elevators and a glass connector, which Mr. Brooks-Barr refers to as an “administrative breezeway." Mr. Knauer said that because of its distance from the main campus, the complex will not be used by students on a daily basis but will instead host scheduled events, such as the grade-wide meetings introduced in September. These larger gatherings will take place in the Alumni Barn, a room on the far end of the walkway, equipped with semi-theatrical lighting, movable seating, and plans for a sound system.
The Weil House and Barn will now serve as the first landmark prospective students encounter upon arriving on the Harvey campus. Families visiting for tours and interviews will pass through the Maury Leone Welcome Center, named in honor of the late Harvey board of trustees member. Paraphrasing the words of the late Frank Weil, Mr. Knauer said that where crops and livestock used to flourish, students now grow. Once the center of agricultural life during Weil's residency, the space has been revitalized to welcome future Harvey students as they begin their own journeys of growth.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Maury Leone Welcome Center. Courtesy of Harvey Communications.
THE HARVEY SCHOOL | 260 JAY STREET, KATONAH NY