Herman A. Schleicher Mansion- One of the Few NYC Landmarks in College Point -123rd Street and 13th Avenue

When the designation of this grand 19^th century mansion was finalized, it was a day for celebration in the community.  College Point residents were all too aware of the devastation that had occurred in their community over the last few decades due to improper zoning, over development and far too few landmark designations. We had lost Boker Court, Flessels, Stratton House and so many more. The time had come for a victory.

College Point is still a unique community that, even now in 2020, has a small-town atmosphere. There’s no denying that much has changed over the years. However, it remains a neighborhood rich with historic charm, a place we can still be proud to call home and a place where its residents  fiercely fight to retain the highest quality of life possible.( those who want to join in that effort should consider joining and attending the College Point Civic Meetings which are held here at Poppenhusen Institute the last Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM. Due to the pandemic we aren’t sure when the next meeting will take place , but will post that info on our website and on our Facebook- so stay tuned )

The following are some additional facts about Herman A. Schleicher and his Mansion.

• Malvina Schleicher purchased the property from Herman Funke in 1856.
• The property abutted the property of Gilbert Lawrence (The Lawrence’s were the first European settlers of the area.)
• The actual Mansion was built in 1857 for Herman A. Schleicher. (It is likely that Schleicher came to College Point in 1854 from Brooklyn with Conrad Poppenhusen.)
• The architect of this grand and elegant structure was Morris Gescheidt.
• The architectural style is Italianate with a mansard roof.
• The builder was Joseph Stonebanks who also built the Poppenhusen Mansion (Stonebanks had one of the grandest houses of all. It stood on what is now 23^rd Ave. and College Point Blvd. It was demolished in the 1930s.
• Herman A. Schleicher was present at the laying of the cornerstone at  Poppenhusen’s American Hard Rubber Co. on old 3^rd Avenue ( today 14^th Rd)
• Conrad Poppenhusen was the executor of   Schleicher’s will, who died at the age of 39, in 1866. Schleicher is buried in Greenwood Cemetery. This is also the resting place of Poppenhusen’s first wife Bertha and their daughter Marie.
• Kenneth G. White purchased the mansion in 1870.
• In 1892, the Schleicher mansion began operating as The Grand View Hotel, under proprietor, John Jockers.   (Jockers was one of the founders of the College Point Volunteer Ambulance Corp. which still serves the community today.)
• The park that surrounded the hotel had the following – spacious tennis courts, croquet, a playground, a hen house, swan and duck houses, a bridge, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, a coach house and servants quarters. All that remains is the main dwelling and the coach house and servants quarters.
• The property rolled all the way down to where Powell’s Cove Park is today, which in addition to being maintained by NYC Parks Dept , is also lovingly and tirelessly  tended to by the volunteers of the Coastal Preservation Network)