Glendale is the third largest city in L.A. County with a living population that is, if you count its massive cemetery, outnumbered by its dead. It’s sleepy, it’s safe, and in 2011, a bunch of consultants reported that most people found it “boring.” That inspired city leaders to launch a marketing campaign centered around the slogan, “Your Life. Animated.” This was derived from the fact that Glendale is the home of both Dreamworks and Disney’s Grand Central Creative Campus.
Glendale was incorporated in 1906, and owes much of its success to real estate developer Leslie Coombs Brand, for whom the town’s main drag is named. It’s certainly scenic, with views of distant mountains and blue skies and numerous public parks. In the early 1900s, Chamber of Commerce president Edward U. Emery came up with the idea to call Glendale “the Jewel City,” as he said it “sparkled like a jewel in the sun.” The name stuck, and can be evidenced in businesses such as Jewel City Bowl and Jewel City Yoga.
But if you really dig in, you’ll find that Glendale has a variety of fun things to do that you just can’t find in L.A.. You can, for example, enjoy a $4 Mai Tai or learn about the history of neon (and even how to make your own neon sign). Glendale also hosts a large Armenian population—one of the largest in the United States—which has gifted the city with numerous fantastic Armenian bakeries and restaurants (we’ve listed one of our favorites below). It has an old-school roller rink with a decades-long LGBTQ night, and a music venue that is often more out there than anything you’d find on the Sunset Strip. Here are 18 ways to have a totally not boring time in Glendale, the Jewel City.
The Americana
Okay, the Americana is a mall. But it’s a magical open-air mall and the big sister of Los Angeles’ The Grove. It is always full of shoppers who seem so casually unhurried as they relax with a latte or a cupcake (which are available at a Sprinkles ATM machine). One could spend a great deal of time here: restaurants include Katsuya, Din Tai Fung (which usually has a line of people waiting to eat their dumplings) and Bourbon Steak; coffee is available in numerous spots including French eatery La Pain Quotidien; and you can unwind at Ombra Wine Bar or Nordstrom’s Bar Verde. One of the Americana’s newer shops is Sugarfina, a high-end candy shop where one can customize their very own bento box of unique treats. Also new are a handful of favorite eateries located across the street, including Shake Shack, Eggslut and Mainland Poke. The mall, it should be noted, was home to one of the very first Apple stores. Some people apparently love The Americana so much that they live there in one of the over 300 luxury apartments and condominiums.
The Americana is located at 899 Americana Way, 818-637-8982.
By Juliet Bennett Rylah