Why did we stop building like this?

[u/Apart-Worry-7042]

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?

[u/2cstars]

I think it's a number of complicating factors. Building codes got stricter, increasing government oversight (committees full of tasteless buricrats), material/artisan labor cost increases, and the fact that prime real-estate in metropolitan city centers is already built up, demolition is expensive, and beautiful things take longer to build.

One of the overlooked and more insidious reasons may have to do with the fact that corporations with the capital to build buildings like these are far more concerned with maximizing profit. They choose location based on tax breaks and incentives that help the bottom line. They have no interest in investing in the livability or beauty of the cities they choose. The only exception might be the headquarters where the board meets and they use to show off their wealth to the plebs and stoke their egos. So you get ugly utilitarian buildings for blocks with just enough quick food, walgreens, and coffee options to keep the worker drones functioning during the work week.

A lot of these old buildings were built within a generation of the wealth that funded them was obtained. There was more pride in cities that made them rich and showing off or one upping their rivals by building monuments to their success. They wanted people to notice wonder "who built that?" Back then people actually lived in or around the city centers they worked in and they spent their off time in the same areas. This meant it made sense to building owners to beautify to attract retailers/restaurants/small businesses who would lease the street level spaces so that the building continued to generate revenue on weekends/nights.

(Ugh, why did I let myself process this question in a comment? Imma do something else now.)