11. Poppenhusen Avenue is named after the founder of the first free kindergarten in the United States
Conrad Poppenhusen was a German American businessman and philanthropist often considered the father of College Point. Born in Hamburg, Poppenhusen came to the United States and started a whalebone processing plant in Brooklyn, which he moved to a rural village in Queens. After bringing together the communities of Strattonport and Flammersburg, Poppenhusen helped build housing developments, streets, and the First Reformed Church. One of his major projects was the Flushing and North Side Railroad, which connected College Point to ferries taking passengers to Manhattan. In 1870, he created the country’s first free kindergarten at an institution that revolutionized the neighborhood.
The Poppenhusen Institute had just about everything the community needed: a church named the Justice of the Peace, the kindergarten, the neighborhood’s first library, the first branch of the College Point Savings Bank, a courtroom and Sheriff’s office, and many adult education programs. Poppenhusen hoped that everyone in the community regardless of background could achieve success, and for many, the opportunities at the Institute led them to open their own businesses. Just a few years after opening the Institute, Poppenhusen retired, and much of his fortune was lost due to poor financial decisions. Regardless, the Institute still operates today as a community cultural center with a museum. Poppenhusen Avenue, in addition to a small park nearby and the College Point library, honors his legacy.