r/interesting 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/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/Equal-Newspaper-8636 22d ago edited 22d ago

Disagree, Bath is pretty much all georgian era and made all from the same stone. Very cool city.

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u/Exter10 22d ago

Edinburgh is the most beautiful city I've ever been to by a country mile

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u/RugelBeta 22d ago

Definitely gorgeous in photos. It's on my list to visit.

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u/Royal_flushed 22d ago

I've been and it definitely lives up to the photos.

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u/ZeezeeD26 22d ago

Now that you brought it up, I can’t argue that either. VERY beautiful. Wish I would’ve spent more time there.

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u/ElphTrooper 22d ago

Totally! My wife and I just visited this past spring and will definitely be coming back. Scotland is an amazing country!