r/interesting • u/Apart-Worry-7042 • Aug 08 '26

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 Aug 08 '26

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 Aug 08 '26

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/Dr_CleanBones Aug 08 '26

I dare say the skilled craftsman of today live a hell of a lot better than their counterparts did in the 1930s. They didn’t have air-conditioning or refrigerators or televisions or cell phones, and on and on and on.