Far be it from me to complain when our neighborhood actually gets a building that marches up to the sidewalk instead of presenting a parking lot as a facade.

The new Wells Fargo branch bank at the SE corner of Sepulveda and Victory, is almost complete. It has a streamline smooth stucco shape, with angled corner windows inset to protect against the harsh Western sun. There is a discreet parking lot in back, and new high tech security cameras. This intersection is also home to a new camera for catching red-light runners.

But the color of the new building is ugly. At first, it looked like it was going to be all white. Great choice, especially for an art-deco like style. Then I saw orange caulk between the stucco. That seemed interesting to me: an all white building with discreet orange lines. But then the spray guns came out.

Now the little building is two tones: refried bean red and orange soda. It’s as if they were trying to appeal to the local people’s taste in food. It is tacky and only ten years out of date. This is what edgy Santa Monica architects built in 1997.

Wells Fargo is one of those enormous companies which earns obscene amounts of money from high interest credit cards and all those little fees on checking accounts. It is a conglomerate that swallowed and spit out many smaller banks that it bought up in the last decade. Isn’t it funny how it is trying to fool the public with this incredibly soft and shrinking branch bank that looks like a homely girl’s second hand closet of colors? Big and mean with a mask of cheap mascara.