The Gilded Age (1870-1900) was a period of significant social, cultural, economic, technological, and political change.  In 1873, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.  The book criticized the corruption and materialism of industrial era politics and business.  The term "Gilded Age" refers to the difference between the idealized, golden surface of the age and the real problems hidden underneath. 

 

In Gilded Age Elmira, business boomed and the population grew.  Still, there were many underlying societal issues.  This exhibit will explore the cultural history of Elmira in the Gilded Age.  Each topic is examined using the two sides of the Gilded Age: the gilded ideal and the tarnished reality.