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No, they didn't, after years of legal battles the plans to build on that site were finally approved. https://hoodline.com/2018/09/plans-for-8-story-mission-devel...

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Both the laundromat and the new building they want to construct are pretty numb. When I look at the architecture of the early-to-mid 20th century I can't help but feel we've lost a lot.

These days economic architecture reigns, and probably for good reason. It's no longer affordable to have ornate brick-work or any kind of embellishment. Interiors are functional and efficient, we've done away with unnecessary mouldings and again dispensed with ornate detail in general.

I wonder how the economics of the property market used to bear the additional cost of all that extra work? Were people just more proud of what they made, or was labour just so incredibly cheap that making a building beautiful made little difference to the bottom line?

I think physical presence was more important to a company’s “brand” in the past. Those were marketing dollars that are now spent on website theming / sophisticated animations / well-polished apps.

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