Corning (Images of America: New York)

Lenses for railroad lanterns, cut glass for the White House table, Thomas Edisonís first light bulbóthe glass for all of these was made in Corning, the glass capital of America, the Crystal City. From 1880 to World War I, newfound wealth sparked a spending and building boom that shaped the city. Corning recaptures the cityís gilded age, the boom days when tax-free fortunes could be madeóand lostóovernight. Vintage photographs show elephants and buffalo parading down Market Street, the Drake family giving recitals on its home pipe organ, churches and public buildings rising, carriages giving way to motorcars, and huge summer homes springing up on the Finger Lakes. ÝÝ