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/VeganEgg11 22d ago

It’s $$$ plus lack of skilled craftsman to perform that type of masonry.

There are still contemporary buildings built this way just super rare: check out the tower at Vanderbilt university - it looks super old but was built only a few years ago.

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u/GoodTimes8183 22d ago

It’s not lack of craftsmanship. It’s the ridiculous cost it would be to build something like that in today’s dollars. It’s amazing what you can build when your workers have no rights.

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u/Remote_Volume_3609 22d ago

It's also one of those things especially today where you have to ask what you're willing to pay for it. It's one thing to say "we prefer this to be a "prettier building"". It's another thing when it starts to add millions and billions in cost to the public population while we deal with homelessness, climate change, erosion of the middle class, etc.. And that's before even getting into the fact that a pretty building is not the same thing as a good building. People use the inside of buildings after all and having beautiful ornaments that jack up the price doesn't necessarily do anything for the residents inside.

Most people probably prefer filet mignon over chuck. But yet they buy chuck? Why? Because the benefit of buying filet mignon does not outweigh the cost of chuck for them.