Why this picture of a plain office building on Dwight Way, you may ask?

Well it’s precisely because the building is looking so unblemished that it warrants attention.

In January we reported on the copious amounts of graffiti that had turned this corner building on Dwight and Fulton into an eyesore and a blight on the landscape (see photo below). By April there had been a significant improvement with a major clean-up operation having removed the majority of the scrawls.

Yesterday the building — whose darkened windows give it a somewhat ominous air — was looking spic and span with fresh-painted coral brick walls and a clean facade (see above). (You don’t want to think about how tempting that all looks for graffiti artists.)

If the owners — who may be new given that the For Lease/Sale sign has been taken down — would like to step forth and take the credit for vastly improving the neighborhood, we would love to hear from them.

Tracey Taylor is co-founder of Berkeleyside and co-founder and editorial director of Cityside, the nonprofit parent to Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside. Before launching Berkeleyside, Tracey wrote for...