Seeing the patina of age on buildings, like efflorescence on brick, the weathering of wood, and even the slight sag of rooflines connects us to the natural cycle of life. This is why places that have lost or demolished a lot of their historic buildings lack a sense of place and are hard to really create an emotional attachment to. Historic buildings are also an existing part of the landscape, not unlike a mountain range, or a lake, or a very old tree and as such, they make up a place's identity. Historic buildings help us connect to our ancestors and if we're not direct descendants of the people who built them, it helps us connect to the history of the city we live in. ![]() Historic buildings help us to believe in continuity and that civilization was around before we were born and that it will be around long after we are dead. Of course, this is not true, but still, there is something very romantic about historic buildings, just like there is with vintage furniture and knick knacks and appliances. We project a lot of things onto bygone eras, calling them the good ol' days and we think of them as a time when things were simpler and easier. People love historic buildings because they trigger a certain nostalgia and are the physical embodiment of an different era. And moreover, it is wrong because it taps into people's innate attraction and enjoyment of a real masterpiece and exploits those feelings to make a profit without actually creating something that deserves those feelings. It is making people believe something that is not true, that they are gazing upon the real, authentic masterpiece, when in fact, what they are looking at is a fake. And what if it was painted by a company standing to profit from making you believe that what you're seeing is the real thing? What is wrong with this situation? What is wrong is that it is a lie. People with an untrained eye (that would be most people) would have no idea that it was fake, they would think it was real. ![]() Imagine a fake Mona Lisa hanging at the Louvre next to authentic masterpieces.
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