Seems no different, to me, to some of the human faces strutting about with lips filled with botox and face skin stretched so tightly I’m left wondering how some of these facial facade owners cannot see what is looking back from their mirrors. Memories of our Ab Fab ladies send-ups!! “Darling, darling, darling – can they not SEE what Stupid looks like??!!” Joanna would say.

Time for soooo many reality checks.

Seattle, with so much less history to preserve, has facade rules but the old walls are usually actual walls in the new buildings.

for example, fancy preservation of fancy material: https://seattle.curbed.com/2015/6/10/9951232/allen-institute-buildings-historic-terra-cotta-facade-unveiled

So in comparison I would take a façade over a parking lot any day.

We do have a few places that will not allow a building to be removed and replaced unless a certain percentage of the original building remains. This makes it renovation rather than replacement. So you will see everything gone but one wall. In other areas you can remove the building but must replace using the identical footprint or foundation. That gets very creative and additional regulations exist in some neighborhoods so that you cannot build up so high you block the “view” of an existing neighbor. I am in a coastal city so blocking an ocean view has significant impact to property values.

Between this “movie lot” architecture and the downright loss of historic buildings to redevelopment I weep for London. I understand that they’re not making any more land and that a plot in London is worth it’s weight in gold but indiscriminate development should not be allowed without regulation, oversight and significant penalties for violations. In my state, there is a cap on property taxes so the only way municipalities can increase property taxes is if developers raze a building and build a new one. This is a threat to our historic buildings not all of which have protection.

From what I’ve read, even your buildings with protection aren’t really protected. They’re gone before an objection can be made. Developers figure paying the penalty is cheaper than going through the proper legal process.

It makes me so sad.

How is the mulberry tree? Was the schoolhouse saved?

If I lived or worked in a building with a façade I would feel cheated. These buildings are pretending to be something they are not and never will be.

Our buildings full of history and character are being destroyed and being replaced with horrible buildings which could be in any city in any country.

Why is this happening? Greed, stupidity and short sightedness.