Downtown Glendale

Glendale is hardly off the beaten path, yet it’s also surprisingly understated. For a town that has played such an outsized role in shaping American commercialism, Glendale doesn’t really announce itself to visitors. Hollywood has a major presence here, but there are no theme parks or studio backlot tours. The town’s main attractions are its shopping malls, which dominate its downtown. It’s both very active and relatively inconspicuous, extremely influential yet quiet about it. And Glendale almost seems content to keep it that way.

But there is more to do than shop. Downtown Glendale has a lot to see that often gets overlooked when sitting in the shadow of the town’s two massive malls. Here you’ll find the snazzy Museum of Neon Art, some delightful civic architecture, and—as many locals know—one of the best dining scenes around.

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A bunch of frequent Metro bus routes pass through Downtown Glendale, most of them stopping at the intersection of Brand and Broadway. The #92 and #94 both come up Brand Blvd from Downtown L.A., with the 92 continuing up to San Fernando while the 94 splits off west to North Hollywood. The #180 cuts east-west across town, taking East Broadway and South Brand on its way between Pasadena and Hollywood. And the #501 express bus between Pasadena and North Hollywood swings down from the 134 freeway to make a stop here as well. Glendale also sits in a Metro Micro zone shared with much of Northeast L.A., including Eagle Rock and Highland Park.

If you’re coming from even further out, Glendale does have a train station on the south end of town that serves Metrolink‘s Antelope Valley and Ventura County lines and Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains. From the train station, the Glendale Beeline, the town’s own bus system, can take you straight to Downtown Glendale, with Route 1 along Central being the most direct and frequent service. And your Metrolink or Amtrak ticket gets you free rides on the Beeline for the day.

The malls: Look, they’re the biggest attraction in Glendale, they’re in the center of everything, we might as well start with the malls. The two shopping malls in question are the classic indoor Glendale Galleria, on the west side of Central between Colorado and Broadway, and the upscale outdoor (and namesake of the popular meme account) Americana at Brand just across the street. I’d say the main difference between the two is that the Americana is the one you stroll through, maybe stop and watch the dancing fountain for a bit while enjoying an ice cream, while the Galleria is the one you actually do your shopping at.

Malls may be a dying breed, but these two are still extremely well-patronized and show no signs of slowing down. In fact, the Galleria is one of the most successful shopping malls ever. And a surprisingly historic one at that: the Galleria was the site of the very first Panda Express, the very first Disney Store (now closed), and one of the first two Apple Stores. Not that you would know it by looking at it; there’s nothing particularly iconic about the Galleria, it looks just like any other indoor mall of the ’70s and ’80s. It just so happens to be located at the perfect nexus of American cultural influence and disposable income.

The Americana, on the other hand, is emblematic of the trend of outdoor “lifestyle centers” that were popular in the late ’90s and 2000s, with their town squares and attempts at creating a simulacrum of traditional urban development. The Americana is just a particularly gaudy example, brought to you by Rick Caruso of The Grove (and more recently, failed mayoral run) fame. There are various architectural flourishes throughout, although the references seem somewhat disjointed and jumbled, drawing from Art Deco, Neoclassical, and vaguely industrial architecture. The centerpiece is the dancing fountain, where jets of water shoot into the air around a golden statue. On busy days, you’ll likely see a trolley—much like the one in The Grove—looping through the mall.

Foxy’s: Located on Colorado across the street from the south side of the Americana is this excellent 1960s diner that still commands a very loyal following. Inside the A-frame building, you’ll find a rustic dining room with fireplaces and chandeliers, with both booth and bar seating. The food is excellent, with very attentive servers who will make sure your coffee cup is kept full, and each booth comes with its own toaster, so you can decide how toasted you want your bread.

Museum of Neon Art: Across Brand from the Americana, you’ll immediately be able to spot the Museum of Neon Art (MONA) from the iconic diving lady neon sign perched on top, a replica of an identical sign the museum inherited from a roadside motel. A set of historic replicas stands on the walkway outside, including the fun “leaky faucet” sign of Clayton Plumbers, formerly of Westwood. MONA is dedicated both to the preservation of historic neon signs and showcasing contemporary neon art, and you’ll find stellar examples of both inside.

Changing exhibits of art from contemporary artists occupy a couple of the smaller galleries, but the real highlight is the large gallery further in that has a stunning collection of historic neon signs, including a striking dragon from the façade of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, a pair of signs from historic Little Tokyo, the delightfully goofy Paramount Pest Control’s Doc Kilzum (“His Patients ALL DIE,” the sign helpfully informs us), and so much more.

Mixed in with the historic signage are some more recent works, like my personal favorite: an animated neon space shuttle suspended from the ceiling, which you can watch “swoop” down and see its rocket blasters fire up. There are also more experimental works in a small gallery in the back: colorful koi fish swimming in front of a triptych, jellyfish suspended in the air, and plasma tubes that you can only view under supervision from the gallery attendant. The museum is small, but packs a lot in, making the price of admission (normally $10) well worth it. MONA is open Thursdays through Sundays; see the website for current hours.

Glendale Central Library: Continuing around to the backside of MONA will put you right across the street from Glendale’s main library, a striking Brutalist building from the 1970s. The entrance room is a massive two-story atrium that provides a sweeping view through the library and letting in a lot of light and air through the massive windows. On the first floor is a small gallery, ReflectSpace, that showcases contemporary art with a focus on political justice and civil rights issues.

The library and MONA will soon be joined by the Armenian American Museum, given Glendale’s status as home to one of the largest Armenian communities outside of Armenia itself. It’s currently under construction just to the south of the library, occupying much of what was Glendale Central Park (the park is planned to be restored and expanded). There is also a small but haunting memorial to the Korean comfort women of World War II, sitting beside the adult recreation center across from the library.

Glendale Civic Center: Located on Broadway five blocks east of Brand, Glendale’s city hall is a classy Art Deco building with a lovely looking tower facing the street. However, the far more interesting civic building is the Municipal Services Building, a 1960s modernist structure that is suspended in the air. Situated on the corner of Broadway and Glendale Avenue, this white concrete building is built on four pylons, allowing the visitor to walk through a nice courtyard plaza underneath.

Another nice civic building to check out is the main post office, which sits on the north side of Broadway halfway between the civic center and Brand. It’s a handsome Italianate building, with an impressive lobby of arched windows and lovely flourishes. But the best part is if you go through the closed door to the passport center, you’ll find a pair of display cases full of historic postal service artifacts from the Glendale area, including old mailbags, postman hats, photographs, and old letters.

On your way back to Brand, you can also check out the nice pedestrian plaza on Artsakh Avenue just north of Broadway. Here, the middle portion of the block is given over to pedestrians, with some dining tables and planters in the middle of a quiet shopping center.

North Brand: One of the main commercial strips of Glendale, Brand north of Broadway is home to a lot of stores and restaurants, including some of the most popular and beloved eateries in a town spoiled for good food. The main architectural landmark on this stretch is the Alex Theater, a performing arts and concert venue run by the city in a gorgeous 1920s Art Deco theater, with some Egyptian architectural flourishes. The theater’s palm tree-esque spire stands proudly against the backdrop of the Verdugo Mountains. And not to be forgotten is a location of local indie movie theater chain Laemmle, which sits around the corner behind the Alex on Wilson Avenue.

But perhaps the more famous landmark on Brand is the flagship location of Porto’s, just north of California Avenue. If you’re an Angeleno, chances are you don’t need to be sold on it; those iconic yellow takeaway boxes of Porto’s pastries are the go-to option for every particularly generous coworker who brings food to the break room. But if you haven’t been introduced, Porto’s is the wildly successful Cuban bakery chain started by Rosa Porto, a Cuban emigree, and her family in the ’70s. After starting in Echo Park, they moved to Glendale and have since expanded across the city. Each location is almost always packed with people, but Porto’s has got their system down and the lines move quickly.

Inside you’ll find two lines, a “cafe” and a “bakery” line, but you can order everything from either one, so just pick the one that’s shorter. The only difference is that the bakery line let’s you admire the pastries, cakes, and savory treats inside the cases and see what kind of seasonal offerings they have. Remember who takes your order, because they’ll be calling your name down at the register afterwards once they’ve got everything sorted out. For stuff that requires more preparation, there’s multiple pick-up stations, one for food and one for drinks (the employees are patient and will point it out for the uninitiated).

It’s hard to go wrong with anything at Porto’s, but the stuff they’re particularly known for are the refugiados (guava and cheese strudels), the sweet cheese rolls, and the potato balls (don’t miss the cheese and pepper ones!). The coffee drinks are also good, and the sandwiches are excellent. You can go with the classic cubano or ropa vieja sandwich, or a torta, or our personal favorite, the chicken milanesa.

A couple other notable eateries sit within a block of Porto’s. Directly across Brand is the Carousel Restaurant, an extremely popular sit-down Middle Eastern restaurant specializing in Lebanese food. And on California Avenue just behind Porto’s is the original location of Great White Hut, a 1950s burger stand held in an eye-catching red and white stand on the corner. The burgers here are marvelous, but the loaded fries are the real highlight.

Adams Square: Though not located in Downtown Glendale, we think this tiny commercial district, centered around the intersection of Chevy Chase Drive and Adams Street on the southeastern corner of Glendale, is worth a mention here. Route 4 of the Glendale Beeline swings past here about every 20 minutes on its route between Downtown and the Glendale train station, so it’s fairly easy to incorporate it into a trip.

The intersection of Chevy Chase and Adams is dominated by a branch of the Glendale Public Library, held in a snazzy Art Deco building, with a nice little pocket plaza sitting just across the street. However, the real charm is found up Adams, walking up towards the hills to the south. After passing a few houses, Adams Street makes a very sharp curve, revealing a tiny commercial area with a small grocer and a coffee shop. (A surprising claim to fame for this little business district is the location of the original Baskin-Robbins, in the small, now-empty triangular building at 1130 South Adams.)

It also reveals the real highlight: Adams Square Mini Park, just across the street from the coffee shop. Built on the site of a former gas station, the 1930s streamline moderne gas station building was actually preserved and incorporated into the park, a rare example of such thoughtful historic preservation. The building now serves as a community gallery as well as a picnic shelter, with a nice playground sitting nearby. Take a moment to relax and enjoy the neighborhood before heading on your way.