SAN JOSE — The Wells Fargo logo is being added to the rooftop of a San Jose office tower, giving the financial services titan a prominent perch on the city’s skyline.
Work was underway this week whereby the Wells Fargo name will replace the KQED name on the rooftop of the 18-story office building at 50 West San Fernando St. in downtown San Jose.
The bank’s name was starting to become visible on the west side of the roof this week, a direct observation of the site by this news organization disclosed.
Wells Fargo operates a bank branch on the ground floor of the office tower and has leased multiple floors in the office building, which is owned by real estate firm Jay Paul Co.
The KQED sign was installed on the 50 West office tower in 2016.
The broadcast station had moved its Silicon Valley office to the high-rise in 2012. However, in 2024, KQED shut its San Jose operations as part of a belt-tightening marked by budget cuts.
Knight Ridder, a defunct publishing company that once owned the San Jose Mercury News and other newspapers, was the first corporate logo on the building and was installed when the tower opened in 1988.
Wells Fargo notified Jay Paul Co. that it had embarked on the efforts to install the new signs, real estate records show.
The offices and branch that Wells Fargo operates in the 50 West San Fernando tower were relocated from an office tower a few blocks away in the Cityview Plaza mixed-use complex on South Market Street.
In 2019, Jay Paul Co. bought the 50 West tower for $230 million. Newmark, a commercial real estate firm, is handling the leasing in the tower, which totals 357,000 square feet.
Poppy & Claro, a restaurant, replaced the KQED broadcast office on the ground floor of the office tower and has become a key addition to downtown San Jose’s dining scene.
Ground-level view of an office tower at 50 West San Fernando Street in downtown San Jose, as seen on Oct. 19, 2026. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
An office tower at 50 West San Fernando Street in downtown San Jose starts to display part of the Wells Fargo logo on the building’s rooftop, as seen on Oct. 19, 2026. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)