052 Discover Corning NY - The Crystal City
Discover New York Towns & Villages
Across New York State, towns and villages tell stories about the forces that shaped the state — rivers, roads, railroads, agriculture, industry, natural resources, innovation and the people who built communities around them.
Few New York communities demonstrate that connection better than Corning.
Corning, New York — The Crystal City
Located in Steuben County along the Chemung River, Corning is known around the world for one material:
Glass.
But the story of Corning is much bigger than glass.
It is the story of geography and transportation creating opportunity, an industry finding the right place to grow, scientific research changing everyday life, a devastating flood nearly destroying a downtown, and a community deciding to rebuild rather than give up.
The River Came First
Long before Corning became famous for glass, the geography of the region was shaping its future.
The Chemung River flows through the valley at Corning before continuing southeast toward the Susquehanna River.
The river valley provided fertile land, but it also created a natural transportation corridor through the surrounding hills.
Early roads followed these valleys. River transportation moved people and materials. Canal connections followed, and eventually railroads recognized the same geographic advantage.
Once again, we see a pattern that appears throughout New York history:
Geography influences transportation, and transportation influences where communities grow.
A Transportation Center
During the nineteenth century, the Corning area became an important transportation center.
Canals and railroads connected the community with other parts of New York and markets beyond the state.
The surrounding region had access to timber, coal and other resources, while transportation networks made it possible to bring raw materials into Corning and ship finished products elsewhere.
Those advantages would soon help change the identity of the community forever.
Glass Comes to Corning
The company that would eventually become Corning Incorporated did not begin in Corning.
Its roots date to 1851, and the glass company later operated in Brooklyn.
In 1868, the Houghton family moved the operation from Brooklyn to Corning.
The location offered important advantages. Corning had canal and railroad connections and access to resources needed for glass production, including fuel for the furnaces.
The company became Corning Glass Works.
From that point forward, the histories of the company and community became closely connected.
From Glassmaking to Innovation
Glass may appear to be a simple material, but changing its composition and manufacturing process can dramatically change what it can do.
Corning became a place where glassmaking increasingly combined with scientific research.
In 1879, the company developed glass for Thomas Edison's emerging electric-light technology. Later innovations included heat-resistant glass that helped lead to PYREX, glass for television technology, low-loss optical fiber and specialized glass used in modern electronics.
The story therefore becomes much larger than bottles, windows and tableware.
Glass became a technology.
That transformation helped make the name Corning known around the world.
The Crystal City
Corning became particularly well known for high-quality cut glass during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The city's association with glass became so strong that Corning acquired the nickname:
The Crystal City.
Glass was not simply something manufactured there. It became part of the identity of the community.
That identity remains visible today in public art, businesses, museums, historic structures and even the language used to describe downtown.
What Is a Gaffer?
Visitors to Corning will frequently encounter another unusual word:
Gaffer.
In traditional glassmaking, the gaffer is the skilled craftsperson responsible for shaping and directing the creation of a piece of glass.
Corning's downtown is now known as the Gaffer District, a name that connects today's shops, restaurants, galleries and businesses with the generations of glassworkers who helped shape the city.
Market Street
One of the best places to understand Corning as a community is not inside a museum.
It is simply walking along Market Street.
The historic commercial district contains an impressive collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century buildings.
Look above the modern storefronts.
Upper floors reveal brickwork, windows, cornices and architectural details representing generations of commercial development.
The Market Street Historic District has been recognized on the National Register of Historic Places for its importance in architecture, commerce, transportation and industry.
But the survival of Market Street was not guaranteed.
The Flood of 1972
On June 23, 1972, flooding associated with Tropical Storm Agnes devastated communities throughout the region.
The Chemung River overwhelmed flood protection systems and water rushed into Corning.
Homes and businesses were flooded. Downtown Corning suffered enormous damage. The Corning Museum of Glass itself filled with several feet of muddy floodwater, damaging parts of its collections and library.
The disaster could have permanently changed the city.
Instead, Corning rebuilt.
Rebuilding More Than Buildings
The years following the flood became an important chapter in Corning's history.
Rather than abandoning its historic commercial center, community organizations worked to restore and revitalize Market Street.
The Market Street Restoration Agency was formed in 1974 as part of that effort.
Historic buildings were preserved and restored while the downtown was adapted for modern businesses.
Today, the Gaffer District traces part of its origin to those post-flood restoration efforts.
It is a powerful reminder that historic preservation is not simply about protecting the past.
Sometimes preservation becomes part of a community's future.
The Corning Museum of Glass
No exploration of Corning would be complete without the Corning Museum of Glass.
Founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works as part of the company's 100th anniversary, the museum began with about 2,000 objects and only five staff members.
It has since developed into an internationally important center devoted to the art, history, science and technology of glass.
Its collections now include more than 50,000 objects representing approximately 3,500 years of glass history.
Visitors can explore ancient glass, decorative art, contemporary glass, scientific applications and modern glassmaking technology.
They can also watch glassworkers transform glowing molten glass into finished objects.
That experience connects the museum directly with the craft traditions that helped define Corning.
Art, Craft and Science
Corning is especially interesting because glass exists there in several worlds at once.
It is art.
It is craftsmanship.
It is industry.
It is chemistry.
It is physics.
And it is technology.
A glassblower working at a furnace and a scientist developing materials for optical communications may appear to be doing completely different things.
Yet both are learning how the composition, temperature, structure and processing of a material determine what that material can become.
That connection between making and understanding is one of the most fascinating parts of Corning's story.
A City Connected to the World
Corning is not a large city, yet innovations associated with the company carrying its name have reached around the world.
Specialized glass and ceramic materials have contributed to lighting, laboratory equipment, cookware, television, telecommunications, automobiles, electronics, astronomy and many other technologies.
That creates an interesting contrast.
You can walk through a relatively small New York community while exploring a history that connects to technologies used by billions of people.
What to Notice When You Visit Corning
When visiting Corning, begin by noticing the landscape.
Look at the hills surrounding the valley and the Chemung River running through it. Consider why transportation routes naturally developed here.
Then walk Market Street.
Don't look only at the shops. Look upward at the historic architecture. Notice the brickwork, upper-story windows and decorative details.
Think about the floodwaters that filled these streets in 1972 — and the decision to rebuild and preserve the downtown afterward.
Look for references to glass throughout the city.
Then visit the Corning Museum of Glass and watch a glassworker gather molten glass from a furnace.
Think about the generations of craftspeople who learned to control that material.
Then consider something even more remarkable.
The same basic material that can become a beautiful hand-blown vessel can also become a precision component carrying information as pulses of light through an optical fiber.
That combination of craftsmanship and science is Corning.
Every Town Has a Story
Corning demonstrates why exploring New York's towns and villages can reveal much larger stories.
A river influenced transportation.
Transportation attracted industry.
Industry encouraged scientific research.
Research produced innovation.
A natural disaster threatened the community.
And preservation helped rebuild it.
Today those layers remain visible throughout Corning.
The next time you visit, don't simply visit the attractions. Look at the city around them.
The city itself is part of the museum.
Discover New York Towns & Villages
This article is part of the Discover New York Towns & Villages series from Zehr Discover NYS. Together we'll explore communities across New York State and discover the geography, history, architecture, industries, transportation and people that helped make each place unique.
Learn the place. Explore the story. Discover New York.