"Rick Caruso's thing is to go big or go home," a staffer at the retail real estate developer's firm recently told us. And if the opening of Caruso Affiliated's Americana at Brand complex in Glendale last Thursday is any indication, it's the truth.
The much-buzzed-about shopping complex opened with a massive rooftop party dubbed the "Supper Club in the Sky,” installed on one of the rooftops of the Americana. Caruso vice president of special events and PR Jennifer Gordon worked with Bolthouse Productions to produce the event, where the performers included Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, the Temptations, the Four Tops, and the Glendale High School choir.
Fireworks, not seen in the city of Glendale since 1959, exploded in the night sky, and M.C. Jay Leno kept the night moving as guest speakers including governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to guests. ELS handled lighting and structural trussing (about 70 tons' worth), which the group brought in using six semi trailers. Wolfgang Puck Catering provided a three-course seated dinner on the rooftop. The meal included vine-ripened tomato and Burrata cheese salads, roasted filet mignon with wild-mushroom melted leek ravioli, and Grand Marnier soufflé with organic market raspberries and Tahitian vanilla-bean sauce for dessert.
Brian Worley designed the decor, with the task of making the eighth-floor parking structure feel like a 1940s-style supper club. He created a multitiered dining room in which Bolthouse brought custom hand-tufted booths to accompany 10-inch crown molding that spanned the perimeter. Black and silver damask and Austrian valances swayed in the breeze. Large black crystal chandeliers and matching wall scones made the outdoor area feel like an interior space.
The black-tie event allowed guests to walk through the Americana and gave a peek at the development's fountain show. (Its fountain comes from the designers behind the the Bellagio's unmissable fountain in Las Vegas.)
The much-buzzed-about shopping complex opened with a massive rooftop party dubbed the "Supper Club in the Sky,” installed on one of the rooftops of the Americana. Caruso vice president of special events and PR Jennifer Gordon worked with Bolthouse Productions to produce the event, where the performers included Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, the Temptations, the Four Tops, and the Glendale High School choir.
Fireworks, not seen in the city of Glendale since 1959, exploded in the night sky, and M.C. Jay Leno kept the night moving as guest speakers including governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke to guests. ELS handled lighting and structural trussing (about 70 tons' worth), which the group brought in using six semi trailers. Wolfgang Puck Catering provided a three-course seated dinner on the rooftop. The meal included vine-ripened tomato and Burrata cheese salads, roasted filet mignon with wild-mushroom melted leek ravioli, and Grand Marnier soufflé with organic market raspberries and Tahitian vanilla-bean sauce for dessert.
Brian Worley designed the decor, with the task of making the eighth-floor parking structure feel like a 1940s-style supper club. He created a multitiered dining room in which Bolthouse brought custom hand-tufted booths to accompany 10-inch crown molding that spanned the perimeter. Black and silver damask and Austrian valances swayed in the breeze. Large black crystal chandeliers and matching wall scones made the outdoor area feel like an interior space.
The black-tie event allowed guests to walk through the Americana and gave a peek at the development's fountain show. (Its fountain comes from the designers behind the the Bellagio's unmissable fountain in Las Vegas.)
