“Glass at 2,000 degrees,” said Rodi Rovner, handing me a heavy iron rod the length of a tightrope-walker”™s balancing pole, one end a gob of glowing orange matter radiating heat, “is like honey. It is going to drip.”
It was our first morning in Corning, New York, the town in Steuben County synonymous with glass in all its forms and guises. (Truth in advertising: We were guests of Explore Steuben. Exploresteuben.com.) At Hands-on-Glass, the studio Rovner originally founded as a nonprofit more than 30 years ago and where the furnace burns 24/7, my wife, Tara, and I were taking a one-on-one lesson in the art of glassmaking and blowing. With rather more input from Rovner than from me, my own cack-handed efforts would eventually result in a rather beautiful glass paperweight, made from colors of my choosing, for me to pick up and take home the following day, once it had cooled. The studio is open to individuals of any age, and whole families can participate.
Corning, of course, is famous worldwide as the home of the Corning Glass Works, now Corning Inc. Founded 168 years ago in Brooklyn, the company moved to its present location in 1868. From its early days making glass casings for Thomas Edison”™s 1879 “incandescent lamp,” through its pioneering manufacture of Pyrex and Corningware in the early 20th century, the company now makes glass for cars, fiber optics, spacecraft windows and commercial electronics. (Fun fact: Since the first iPhone rolled off the production line in 2007, Corning Glass Works has made the “Gorilla Glass” for more than six billion devices.) And although Corning now has 108 plants in 15 countries and the company is valued at $27 billion, it is still headquartered in Corning, which is not known as America”™s “Crystal City” for nothing.
With its rich history, independent creative spirit and wealth generated by its famous glassworks, Corning makes the perfect spot for a couple of days”™ vacation.
We stayed at the practical and deftly-run Hilton Garden Inn hotel, our spick-and-span hotel room offering a delightful view of the Brisco Bridge, which spans the Chemung River. The hotel also boasted its own indoor pool and firepit and was just a few minutes”™ walk from all the town”™s activities and restaurants.
It was a breeze to walk the couple hundred yards from the hotel to the Corning Museum of Glass, the region”™s showstopper ”“ one of the top three glass museums in the United States, if not the world. Founded in 1951, the incorporated complex has evolved and grown over the years. With a new wing in 2015, it takes visitors on a thrilling journey through the art, history and culture of glass and glassblowing. Forgive me for using the inevitable pun ”“ Netflix used the expression, too, for its 2019 series focused on the museum ”“ but we were “blown away” by the “35 Years of Glass” galleries, and no less by the extraordinary exhibits and installations in the contemporary galleries, more than 50,000 objects in all.
The museum also offers live demonstrations, glassmaking opportunities for all ages and kids and family activities on its vast campus.
But as if spectacular glass were not reason enough to visit Corning, there is plenty to see and do besides crystal.
Not to be confused with the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Corning”™s Rockwell Museum, housed in the Old City Hall Building in downtown, is named for local business owners Bob and Hertha Rockwell, who amassed an incredible collection of American art and historical objects. The museum, affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is well worth a visit for its sumptuous paintings of the American West, Native American art and artifacts and Steuben glass, classic firearms and antique toys.
At the Heritage Village of the Southern Finger Lakes, a cluster of buildings on West Pulteney Street, you can visit the Benjamin Paterson Inn, dating from 1796, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a late 19th-century blacksmith”™s forge. My personal favorite here was the 1878 schoolhouse ”“ completely intact and left as it was, with desks, books, globes, wall maps and more, after the last class was dismissed in 1954. Priceless.
And goodness, you eat well in Corning, its excellent food and restaurant scene seeming to run in tandem with the quality of the local Steuben and Finger Lakes”™ wines.
At the Cellar restaurant — which isn”™t a cellar at all, but a welcoming street-level space on West Market Street, Corning”™s highly attractive main thoroughfare in the central Gaffer District — we appreciated the bold decoration of beautifully mounted glass plates on handsome, dark green walls and the comfortable semicircular booth in which we were seated. The inventive menu featured dishes using lots of local ingredients, such as Cayuga cheese and pastured chicken, as well as a large number of vegetarian and vegan options. An excellent “Ravines” Finger Lakes Chardonnay ”“ “tangerine, almond and lemon confit,” as so accurately described in the restaurant”™s own tasting notes ”“ also hit the spot.
Food highlights of our two-day trip also included another first-class dinner at long-established Three Birds, exceptional panini at the Old Word Caf̩ and homemade ice cream on homemade warm waffle cones at the Dippity Do Dahs ice cream store, all in the Gaffer District. Home-baked scones and vanilla cupcakes from LaurabelleӪs bakery were another Market Street treat.
Daunted by the distance? Don”™t be. Break through the glass ceiling: The four hours”™ easy and rather beautiful drive from Westchester or Fairfield counties through the southern Catskill Mountains on quiet roads goes by in a trice. But Corning, with its vast panoply of attractions, is a town you”™ll long remember.
For more visit hilton.com; handsonglass.com; cmog.org; heritagevillagesfl.org; rockwellmuseum.org; corningwinebar.com; dippitydodahs.com; threebirdsrestaurant.com; laurabellesascratchbakery.com
Travel Talk”™s Jeremy Wayne is a luxury travel adviser with Superior Travel of New York.”¯ Contact him at jeremy@superiortravel.com.
