Before he began making his own, Louis Comfort Tiffany ordered the glass for his famous windows and lamps from Kokomo Opalescent Glass in Kokomo, Ind.
Invoices show that Tiffany wasn't always timely about paying his bills, but that didn't seem to affect this business, which opened in 1888 and is the oldest manufacturer of opalescent and cathedral stained glass in the world.
The company, which is still owned by members of the three founding families, has the ability to manufacture more than 22,000 different combinations of glass in varying textures, colors and density.
Open for tours, visitors can view magic in the making, in the vast room where the flames used to melt the amalgam of materials -- soda ash, silica sand, crushed limestone, feldspar colors and minerals -- that form glass are kept constantly burning in clay pots that can hold about 1,200 pounds of the material, cooking it for about 17 hours at temperature of 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.
The company makes more than 2,200 varieties of glass, which differ in color, texture and density using processes and formulas that have varied little over time.
Indeed, Anne Elliot, marketing director of KOG, whose husband, Dick, is president of the opalescent glass factory and a fourth-generation owner, tells the story about how in 1896 KOG manufactured the glass for a rose window at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. Fast forward to 1998 when the window of the church needed restoring. That could have been a problem except that KOG still had the recipe for the glass and was able to create what was needed for the restoration process.
KOG was started by three businessmen who were part of a large group of entrepreneurs enticed by the city of Kokomo in the mid-1800s after a large pocket of natural gas was discovered nearby. The city promised free gas to anyone who opened a business in the area and created jobs. It seemed an easy enough promise. After all, it was expected that the gas would last forever but unfortunately forever was only 10 years. Of all the businesses that took advantage of the city's offer, KOG is the only one still operating. And interestingly enough, it is still run by the descendants of the founding three families.
Visitors will also want to stop at KOG's Hot Glass Studio whose purpose, Elliott says, is to produce a distinctive range of quality hand-blown and hand-cast glass using the company's opalescent glass. Here viewers can watch two studio glass artists, Jon Wolfe and Michael Amis, both independent artists who have exhibited their work internationally, create one-of-a-kind and limited-edition functional and sculptural hand-blown glass objects such as Christmas ornaments, paperweights, serving bowls, glasses, vases and pitchers.
The studio also makes custom-ordered glassware. Creations include Colorfields -- organically shaped where light and dark fields of color blend softly together -- and Rondels, glassware with bright bands of color.
Another feature of the tour is Room 4 where random-sized sheets of glass, in a rainbow array of colors and patterns, are stored for future packing. According to Elliott, the room is a destination for artists and those doing restoration work.
How to get there: U.S. 31 is the highway that goes straight through Kokomo. Go west at the intersection of U.S.31 and Markland Avenue (if coming from the south, turn left.) Turn left at Home Avenue (there will be a stoplight.) Turn right at State Street (there is no stop) and then turn left on Market Street. KOG sits on the corner when you turn on Market Street. Tours are free and are offered on Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m.
For more information: Contact the Kokomo Visitors Bureau, 1504 N. Reed Road (just off of U.S. 31). (800) 837-0971 or (765) 457-6802. www.kokomo-in. or contact Kokomo Opalescent Glass at (765) 457-1829 or www.kog.com
What to bring: As the KOG Web site says, this is a walking tour through a factory that has no climate control. No open-toed shoes allowed, and please wear casual clothes.
You'll like: Sondy's Sycamore Grill (113 W. Sycamore, Kokomo), a wonderful place filled with rescued décor from local and far away places such as the front door and amber glass panels that came from the city's original Presbyterian church, a stained glass work of an oak tree in the entry way that is from a mansion in Indianapolis and valued at $12,000 and bird heads that were used in a Chicago opera called "Snow Maiden" back in 1925. The food is good, too. Sure winners are Fried Chicken Salad, strips of chicken topped with a poppy seed dressing and accompanied with fresh fruit, and Chicken Oscar, chicken breast topped with crab meat, artichoke hearts and hollandaise sauce.
Kids will like: The Elwood Haynes Museum located in the Haynes home, which was built in 1915. Before there was Detroit, there was Indiana -- which in the early 1900s was the largest manufacturer of automobiles in the country. Elwood Haynes was the inventor and builder of the first successful commercial automobile in the country, making his first trial run on July 4, 1894. Haynes donated the car, which he refused to sell, to the Smithsonian Institute in 1910 where it is on exhibit. In the house is the 1905 Haynes Model L, considered the Cadillac of cars at the time and which sold for $1,350. There are other Haynes cars on exhibit in the red tile-roofed garage in the back of the house. Haynes, a metallurgist by training, also invented stainless steel as well as Stellite Alloy, a metal still used in space exploration including a buggy that maneuvered on the moon. 1915 S. Webster St. (765) 456-7500.
And don't miss: If you're serious about glass, drive to nearby Elwood, Ind., and visit the House of Glass at 7900 E State Road 28. At one time, Elwood had five glass manufacturing plants after the gas boom of 1887. Watch glass products being made on the premises here and visit the retail shop. The House of Glass also operates tours. Call for more information. (765) 552-6841 or www.houseofglass.com
