Featured Landmarks in Downtown Corning
Centennial Sculpture
Celebrating the dynamic heritage of the Crystal City, this sculpture rests on the eastern end of Market Street. Designed by George Greenamyer in 1996, the coloring book-style metal sculpture tells the history of Corning with five elements: a Fallbrook Coal Company switching engine, the cigar hand-manufacturing industry, Amory Houghton and the original Corning Glass Works building, the General Sullivan canal boat, and the NYS Armory building known as the Castle.
Little Joe Tower
Built in 1912, this tower was originally used to manufacture thermometer tubing. The tubes were produced by using the "vertical draw" process, where skilled technicians and glassworkers formed molten glass batches and then stretched them to the top of the Little Joe Tower using a cable system. This created a long, continuous tube of hot glass. After cooling, the tubes were cut to desired lengths for thermometers. Today, it stands as a historical landmark in Corning's skyline and a prominent icon throughout the city. Watch a short historical documentary - Corning Little Joe Tube Tower.
Centerway Clock Tower
Standing as a memorial to Erastus Corning, for whom the City of Corning is named, the Centerway Clock Tower has remained in the center of town since its construction in 1883. At 50 feet high with a bell that weighs 1400 pounds, this landmark is composed of locally-sourced Antrim stone.
Centerway Walking Bridge
Constructed in 1921, the 40-foot-wide, 710-foot-long structure formerly served as a pedestrian and vehicular crossing of the Chemung River until 1979, when the Brisco Bridge opened to traffic. An original intent to demolish the bridge was overturned by the public, preserving its historical integrity as a pedestrian bridge for the next 30 years. Funding was secured to protect the structure in 2009 through a unique partnership between the City of Corning, Corning Incorporated, Corning's Gaffer District, and the New York State Department of Transportation. Today, the bridge acts as a walking park with green lawns and perennial gardens. The space also strives to be educational, community-friendly, and interactive with bronze animal tracks, a maze, grass pavers, and fun horizontal stripes to break up the pavement. In the fall of 2014, the bridge's restoration project was named the American Public Works Association Historic Restoration & Preservation Project of the Year.