Historic downtown San Jose skyscraper gets a brand new look

There’s something new — and very blue — decorating the downtown San Jose skyline.

A scaffolding wrap has been installed on the east-facing side of the historic Bank of Italy building — originally constructed in 1926 and undergoing a conversion from office space to residential. The wrap looks like a massive blueprint of the building — starting from the cupola on down — with Silicon Valley-style circuitry growing up the middle where the elevators are.

Michael Lomio, the city of San Jose’s downtown manager, wrote in a recent blog post that it’s believed to be the first time a San Jose building has received this treatment. Certainly nothing comes to mind that was close to this — unless you count the years that the dilapidated First Church of Christ, Scientist near St. James Park was covered in protective white tarps. That, of course, wasn’t meant to be artistic — it only looked like an avant garde installation — and it wasn’t nearly as eye-catching.

I’m glad Westbank’s Andrew Jacobson and Brady Coggins navigated through various city departments to get approval for the artistic draping. The project is going to last another year — at least — and the wrap provides plenty of visual candy to the streetscape while we wait for the real thing to get unveiled.

By the way, Lomio’s blog, “This is Downtown San Jose,” is a great way to keep up on downtown business updates and often get the backstory behind different buildings and initiatives. Check it out at the city’s Office of Economic Development web page, sjeconomy.com.

MEMORIES OF GREAT AMERICA: Starting from its opening in 1976 through the end of the Marriott era in the mid-’80s, live musical performances were a big draw at Great America in Santa Clara. Putting on shows throughout the park meant hiring a lot of young people in the South Bay who were theatrically inclined to sing, dance, play instruments as well as manage the lights, sound, costumes and sets.

As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the park’s opening — and with its impending closing in mind — about 60 of the former employees of “Show Operations” got together last weekend for a two-day reunion, organized by Dave Wolowic.

It started July 17 with a fun night out at the Table in Willow Glen — you might have seen a star-spangled Bugs Bunny hanging out on Lincoln Avenue — and continued at the park the next day with a picnic lunch reunion. The singers at the reunion then got together to delight the park attendees with opening theme from “Music America” in front of the double-decker Carousel Columbia.

“Back when the park opened in 1976, entertainment was almost as important as the rides,” Wolowic said during Saturday’s event. On a typical day, he said, park visitors were greeted by a 12-piece marching band and about a dozen costumed characters. There were shows at the Theatre Royale, a jazz band and Dixieland playing at Orleans Place, a full-on circus in the County Fair area and the big shows at Hometown Square’s Grand Music Hall with a full orchestra and a cast of 18 doing five 50-minute shows every day.

Those casts and crews included familiar names like San Jose City Councilmember Michael Mulcahy (who performed in 1983 and ’84, following in the footsteps of his sister, Paula) and former CMT San Jose Artistic Director Kevin Hauge, who was a choreographer in the early 1980s. Most went on to different fields, but many took their talents to the next level.

Desiree Goyette, a Grammy-nominated singer, composer and voiceover artist, was in the second group and spoke to the audience at the reunion about her time at Great America.

“When we landed this job, it was like a dream come true. I think we all saw it as a stepping stone toward a professional career in the entertainment industry,” Goyette said, giving a special shout out to original director Gene Patrick and choreographer Jim Bates. “Through the four seasons I was here, I noticed all of us grew as artists. It was an amazing training ground for us.”

HONOR ROLL: Bellarmine College Prep announced the three newest members of its Hall of Fame on Monday: Major League Baseball player Eric Thames (Class of 2004) in Athletics, architect Bill Sterling (Class of 1961) in Arts & Humanities and state Sen. Dave Cortese (Class of 1974) in Public Service. They’ll be inducted in an on-campus ceremony, followed by a dinner, on Aug. 29.

Artist Miguel Novelo, who currently has an exhibition on display at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Jose, was named a recipient of the San Francisco Bay Area Artadia award, alongside Morehshin Allahyari and Maya Fuji. Artadia, a nonprofit grantmaking organization, provides each awardee with a $15,000 unrestricted grant. “Inframundo,” Novelo’s first institutional solo show, is on display at the ICA at 560 S. First St. through Aug. 23.

DOG-GONE TALENTED: We’ve seen lots of young people get the performing bug through Children’s Musical Theatre San Jose. But apparently it goes for dogs, too. Sally, a goldendoodle, first appeared in the youth theater’s production of “Finding Neverland” last season and has now been cast in “Legally Blonde,” a Mainstage production that opened Friday night at the Montgomery Theater downtown.

Sally plays Paulette’s dog Rufus, while Elle’s dog Bruiser is portrayed by an equally adorable but more appropriately sized dog. You can check them both out through Aug. 2, and you can get more details at www.cmtsj.org.

Sally’s owner, Katie Barrow, said her dog enjoyed the “Finding Neverland” experience and might have even been a little depressed when the show finished — along with all the extra attention. Barrow said she was happy to find another role for Sally so quickly. Maybe CMT can get “Annie” back on the schedule soon.