Tourism Promotion Efforts Should Include Religious Art

THE DAILY NEWS | ALBION
By Tom Rivers

The “Christ the Consoler” stained-glass window was made
by the famed Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company. (Tom Rivers/Daily News)

NEW YORK---The three windows were installed in 1894 inside the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church. They are early works of the famed Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company in New York City. Tiffany is the Michelangelo of stained glass, a world-renowned brand. Yet, few people know about these windows in Albion. They aren’t trumpeted in tourism brochures or noted on Albion or Orleans County websites. Ecclesiastical art represents a “gray area,” said Wayne Hale, the county’s tourism director. He doesn’t think he can use state “I Love New York” tourism dollars to promote such overt religious messages. “There is a market for heritage and art.” [link]