De La Torre 1

Alejandra De La Torre & Roger Munoz

John Kubler
English 114B
18 February 2014
Exercise 1.2 Fieldwork Ethnography of a Public Space
Located near Downtown LA and Pasadena, The Americana at Brand offers visitors
amazing shopping, dining and entertainment options, as well as a delightful atmosphere to enjoy it
all. The Americana at Brand is a large outdoor shopping center community in Glendale,
California. The property was built, owned and operated by a Los Angeles businessman, Rick J.
Caruso and his company Caruso Affiliated. Caruso Affiliated develops, owns and manages mixed-
use residential and commercial properties. This project opened to the public on May 2, 2008. The
Americana at Brand has 75 retail shops and includes about 100 condominiums and 238
apartments.
Whether people are hosting an outdoor event that draws over ten thousand guests, or a
private reception for exclusive clientele, few locations can compare to The Americana. There is an
estimated 2.5 million people living in a ten mile radius from there. There is an estimation of
929,524 households with the average household income of about $71,000. An average of 92,000
cars pass through the propertys 3 intersections. The median age of people found there is 35 and
56% of shoppers are between 25-44 years of age. The annual number of customer visits is about
16 million.
The Americana was organized with a sense of a city center like in the town of Seaside. It
uses a mix of architecture in the buildings with different materials and colors used to build them.
The heights of the building also varied, no building was exactly the same. The massive elevator
made out of steel bars gives it a sense from the industrial era style. There seemed to be a little park
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in the middle of the shopping center, but there was a sign saying to keep off the grassy area. This
place was really environmental friendly. They had plants and trees planted all around the space by
the buildings on the sidewalk. On the sidewalk there were bungalow type of restaurants and ice
cream shops. The street in the middle is used for a trolley that wasnt in service at the time. People
travel on this to go around the shopping center, like on a tour. The light posts contained speakers
that played oldies type of music. This music gave us a sense of serenity while walking around.
The movie theatre located in this shopping center also attracts people. People could watch
a movie then be able to go out and shop. The fountain in the middle of the Americana was the best
attraction there. It featured Waters of Americana, an animated fountain by WET. This fountain
performs a water show with music that people get to enjoy. The big fountain went down to a little
fountain with a statue inside. The statue was of a titan looking person. This place draws the
attention of middle class and wealthy class people. There are many expensive stores like Tiffany,
Barneys and Nordstrom which are aimed usually to the upper class. There is private security force
present at the Americana walking around and inspecting everything.
The Americana at Brand combines luxury living, shopping and entertainment to create a
uniquely sophisticated and upscale Southern California urban environment. It represents Caruso
Affiliateds first residential development project, offering residents the opportunity to live in a
vibrant, walkable, upscale urban environment. True to Caruso Affiliateds company mission, the
residential experience has been completely reimagined just like the city of Seaside. This space was
built with mixed-use buildings to combine living in an upscale shopping center with a classy
atmosphere. This is a safe place to live and shop. Wealthy people are found here which brings
money to the place. It is obviously lots of money is invested because it is a clean, safe and wealthy
environment to be in.