After visiting the glass museum [1], most visitors stroll down a wide walkway that leads to Corning [2]’s historic downtown. This 19th-century district—once just another dying downtown—was extensively restored following Hurricane Agnes in 1972, when the street was all but destroyed by the flooding of the Chemung River.
Today, Market Street is brick sidewalks, locust trees, and one bustling shop or restaurant after another. At one end are contemporary glass studios with artisans at work: Vitrix Hot Glass Studio 77 W. Market St., 607/936-8707, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon.–Wed., 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Sat., noon–5 p.m. Sun.) and Noslo Glass Studio (89 W. Market St., 607/962-7886).
A half mile north of Market Street is a complex of restored historic buildings (59 W. Pulteney St., 607/937-5281, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Mon.–Fri. Mar.–Dec., adults $3, children 6–18 $1) peopled by guides in costume dress. Buildings include the Benjamin Patterson Inn, complete with a women’s parlor, tap room, and ballroom; the De Monstoy Cabin, furnished as it would have been by early settlers; and an 1860s barn equipped with antique farm implements.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-york-state/the-finger-lakes/corning/corning-museum-glass
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-york-state/the-finger-lakes/corning