Corning New York: The Town
Furnace to Flame: A Journey In Glass
Corning Headquarters
We were able to spend three days in Corning in 2021. However, we got there late on the first day and were limited in the amount of time we could spend checking things out. Most the stores were closed so we only got to visit one shop in the Gaffer District. My partner and I did get to take some pictures and pay a trip to Wegman’s grocery store. The highlight of this first day was our visit with Stained Glass Works & More, the owner spent a great deal of time learning about my interests and sharing secrets of the museum and town. His incite led us to our best experience of the trip. Over the next two days, our town time came during lunch and dinner breaks.
While we were there for the glass, we enjoyed the food. Cupcakes, New York Pizza, Macaroni, and of course Red Hots. Oh, and sushi from Wegman’s.
Stained Glass Works & More was the best! Not only did they have lots of cool things, they were very nice and spent a lot of time with us telling us about the history of the museum, giving us ideas of things to do and they even sent us home with boxes of scrap stained glass.
Every time we tried to see the Vortex Hot Shop at work, we arrived too late or too early. It was a cool space, though, and their shop had lots of nice pieces.
We made sure to visit all the shops, galleries, and studio spaces.
Stubens was closed so we had to be content with window shopping. Not that I could afford a piece of Stuben Glass.
While there, we also visited the Rockwell Museum and even found some glass art there to enjoy as well as all the paintings and sculptures. We were also able to view the town from atop the museum. The best part of the Rockwell, besides their fun gift shop, was the collection of beaded items.
Even without the glass, Corning was a beautiful little town with lots of character.
