{"id":5402,"date":"2026-07-25T13:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T13:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5402"},"modified":"2026-07-25T13:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T13:40:13","slug":"historic-downtown-san-jose-skyscraper-gets-a-brand-new-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5402","title":{"rendered":"Historic downtown San Jose skyscraper gets a brand new look"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u2019s something new \u2014 and very blue \u2014 decorating the downtown San Jose skyline.<\/p>\n

Read more Jeff Kent\u2019s Hall of Fame career began with a trade Giants fans hated<\/a><\/p>\n

A scaffolding wrap has been installed on the east-facing side of the historic Bank of Italy building \u2014 originally constructed in 1926 and undergoing a conversion from office space to residential. The wrap looks like a massive blueprint of the building \u2014 starting from the cupola on down \u2014 with Silicon Valley-style circuitry growing up the middle where the elevators are.<\/p>\n

Michael Lomio, the city of San Jose\u2019s downtown manager, wrote in a recent blog post that it\u2019s believed to be the first time a San Jose building has received this treatment. Certainly nothing comes to mind that was close to this \u2014 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\u2019t meant to be artistic \u2014 it only looked like an avant garde<\/em> installation \u2014 and it wasn\u2019t nearly as eye-catching.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m glad Westbank\u2019s 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 \u2014 at least \u2014 and the wrap provides plenty of visual candy to the streetscape while we wait for the real thing to get unveiled.<\/p>\n

By the way, Lomio\u2019s blog, \u201cThis is Downtown San Jose,\u201d 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\u2019s Office of Economic Development web page, sjeconomy.com.<\/p>\n

MEMORIES OF GREAT AMERICA:<\/strong> Starting from its opening in 1976 through the end of the Marriott era in the mid-\u201980s, 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.<\/p>\n

As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the park\u2019s opening \u2014 and with its impending closing in mind \u2014 about 60 of the former employees of \u201cShow Operations\u201d got together last weekend for a two-day reunion, organized by Dave Wolowic.<\/p>\n

It started July 17 with a fun night out at the Table in Willow Glen \u2014 you might have seen a star-spangled Bugs Bunny hanging out on Lincoln Avenue \u2014 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 \u201cMusic America\u201d in front of the double-decker Carousel Columbia.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBack when the park opened in 1976, entertainment was almost as important as the rides,\u201d Wolowic said during Saturday\u2019s 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\u2019s Grand Music Hall with a full orchestra and a cast of 18 doing five 50-minute shows every day.<\/p>\n

Read more Dai Thanh Supermarket opens its largest San Jose grocery store so far<\/a><\/p>\n

Those casts and crews included familiar names like San Jose City Councilmember Michael Mulcahy (who performed in 1983 and \u201984, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Goyette said, giving a special shout out to original director Gene Patrick and choreographer Jim Bates. \u201cThrough the four seasons I was here, I noticed all of us grew as artists. It was an amazing training ground for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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HONOR ROLL:<\/strong> 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\u2019ll be inducted in an on-campus ceremony, followed by a dinner, on Aug. 29.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cInframundo,\u201d Novelo\u2019s first institutional solo show, is on display at the ICA at 560 S. First St. through Aug. 23.<\/p>\n

DOG-GONE TALENTED:<\/strong> We\u2019ve seen lots of young people get the performing bug through Children\u2019s Musical Theatre San Jose. But apparently it goes for dogs, too. Sally, a goldendoodle, first appeared in the youth theater\u2019s production of \u201cFinding Neverland\u201d last season and has now been cast in \u201cLegally Blonde,\u201d a Mainstage production that opened Friday night at the Montgomery Theater downtown.<\/p>\n

Sally plays Paulette\u2019s dog Rufus, while Elle\u2019s dog Bruiser is portrayed by an equally adorable but more appropriately sized dog.\u00a0 You can check them both out through Aug. 2, and you can get more details at www.cmtsj.org.<\/p>\n

Sally\u2019s owner, Katie Barrow, said her dog enjoyed the \u201cFinding Neverland\u201d experience and might have even been a little depressed when the show finished\u00a0 \u2014 along with all the extra attention. Barrow said she was happy to find another role for Sally so quickly. Maybe CMT can get \u201cAnnie\u201d back on the schedule soon.<\/p>\n

Read more Ultra-luxury home sales in Miami tops Bay Area, NYC on wealth flight<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bank of Italy’s blueprint-style scaffolding wrap adds some color and fun to the downtown skyline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHistoric downtown San Jose skyscraper gets a brand new look - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5402\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Historic downtown San Jose skyscraper gets a brand new look - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Bank of Italy's blueprint-style scaffolding wrap adds some color and fun to the downtown skyline.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5402\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-25T13:40:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5402#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5402\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Historic downtown San Jose skyscraper gets a brand new look\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T13:40:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5402\"},\"wordCount\":1017,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5402#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/32b71cea213d5366c3ac41a7e3ee1197-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5402#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5402\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5402\",\"name\":\"Historic downtown San Jose skyscraper gets a brand new look - 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