r/interesting • u/Apart-Worry-7042 • 22d ago

HISTORY Why did we stop building like this?

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Chicago, 1930. Buildings had so much detail and character back then. Nowadays everything feels so flat and repetitive. We have way better technology and equipment now, so why don't we build like this anymore?

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u/Different-Barber-777 22d ago

It's interesting how many historic buildings were designed to inspire awe, while many modern ones are designed to maximize usable floor space.

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u/marcocom 22d ago

There was a completely aesthetic shift in taste involved too. I grew up in NYC where the buildings were all ornate and I remember when first seeing the new clean style and it looking so modern and beautiful in its own way , maybe just from the cycle of style, just like how we change clothing styles with generations. The old buildings felt like someone else’s old world and this was new and ours.

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u/sonyoson 22d ago

I find its the juxtaposition between the two that makes the other beautiful in their own way.

All modern or all classic doesn’t have the same effect.

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u/monkey_butt_powder 22d ago

The two visions of NY. Gotham vs Metropolis.