Just 5 years after the iconic Hearst Tower in Uptown Charlotte was vandalized with a massive “TRUIST” logo, another jewels in our crown has just succumbed to corporate brandishing.
This week, Wells Fargo affixed their massive illuminated logos atop their 48-story ‘handle bar building’, formerly known as the Duke Energy ‘Tower of Power’.
Using helicopters, crews lifted 14-foot-tall glowing letters onto either side of the skyscraper’s distinctive rooftop “handlebar”.
After facing a handful of setbacks, the massive Wells Fargo letters were successfully installed on the bank’s 550 South Tryon building June 15. The company employs nearly 30,000 people in the Queen City. pic.twitter.com/t1MqIChqEz
— Spectrum News 1 CLT (@SpecNews1CLT) June 16, 2025
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The move marks the latest in a wave of branding efforts that residents continue to speak out against — citing concerns that Charlotte’s modern, elegant skyline is being drowned in oversized advertising.
Wells Fargo also announced upgrades to the building’s LED lighting system, part of its $500 million “employee experience investment” initiative in a press release. The system will support expanded displays through the Wells Fargo Lights program, which illuminates the building in different colors to celebrate causes and events.
But for many longtime residents and architecture enthusiasts, the signage represents more than a lighting upgrade — it’s symbolic of what some call a growing visual assault on Charlotte’s skyline.
Other skyscrapers that have also been vandalized with corporate logos include Bank of America, Ally, BB&T, and Honeywell.
