By Staff Writer, Allen Zakaria

Make it a $400,000,000 design, stretching 15.5 acres, with 75 retail stores and one “Fountain Fabulous.”

One Americana at Brand, coming right up.

Situated between Market Place and Glendale Galleria and consisting of a two-acre park, open air plazas, and over 300 luxury condominiums, the Americana has attracted thousands of shoppers since its recent opening.

The Americana has become a place with an endless list of activities to do. One can take a stroll around the massive fountain to observe an amazing array of water dances or take a trip around the Americana on the newly designed trolley. The beautiful scenery helps alleviate the desire that people have to shop.

Another feature of the Americana that is very difficult to overlook is the 140-foot elevator which has an Eiffel tower design. Attendees must take the elevator down to the central courtyard on their first trip to the Americana in order to view all the stores in their entirety and thus create a mental note of different places to visit.

“The Americana has a surreal atmosphere that makes you want to go back for more,” Hagop Hovennesian (’08) said. “It’s Glendale’s very own Disneyland.”

Aside from the fountain, the trolley, and the elevator, the Americana offers over 75 designer stores, including H&M, True Religion, Urban Outfitters, XXI Forever, Armani Exchange, and more.

Although many of these stores require one to walk in with a fat wallet, stores such as H&M and XXI Forever present clothing at reasonable prices.

The Americana also provides its customers with open booths such as various perfume stops, Teddy Bear stores, and Sunglass huts, all of which offer pretty good bargains.

The Cheesecake Factory, Jewel City Diner, and Katsuya are just a few of the restaurants at the Americana that will make one’s mouth water.

One can take an order at Pinkberry, a well-known frozen yogurt store, for dessert. As for coffee, one may choose to pay a quick visit to Coffee Bean.

The Pacific Theatres is also a nice touch to the already jam-packed Americana. Though overshadowed in the past years by AMC Theatres, Pacific Theatres proves that it too can compete with large auditoriums and comfortable seating.

Standing three stories tall, Barnes and Noble (B&N) offers a varied book collection and is also a great place to quietly read or drink coffee. The only setback is that the formerly cozy atmosphere of the two-story Barnes and Noble at the Glendale Fashion Center is overwhelmed by an excess of open space in the new place.

Aside from the various attractions aforementioned, the Americana has hundreds of luxury condominiums which, like most of its stores, have a high price tag. Prices range from $700,000 to $2 million for a fully furnished two-bedroom condominium providing concierge service.

With all of the people that the Americana is attracting, it leads one to think if this outdoor galleria of sorts will pollute this city and attract unwanted visitors. The worst the Americana will do is bring revenue to Glendale’s economy.

Whether taking the amazing elevator down to the central courtyard, shopping around, enjoying the water display, taking a trip on the trolley, eating at the Cheesecake Factory, watching a movie at the incredible Pacific Theatres, or dreaming about someday owning one of those condos, a day at the Americana will be a day well spent.