When I think of the era in which the original tall buildings were constructed, I think of the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower. The monument was built in Washington's honor. The Eiffel Tower was built to celebrate the world's fair of 1899. This might be a huge oversimplification, but it seems that every skyscraper since has been a response to those two. In my mind, that race has been over for years. Maybe that is part of my problem. Remember back in the early 90's when big SUV's were all the rage? Well somebody thought that a military grade vehicle was what the general public needed...so now we have the Hummer H2. The H2 is one of the most ridiculously inefficient and gaudy vehicles out there. It might as well come with fireworks and a bull horn that announces your arrival. Sometimes you need a big truck, van, or (sigh) SUV, but the H2 is an example of how designing something big, just to be the biggest, is obnoxious and glutinous.
The vehicle is a good simile for this topic. About once a week I'll see a yellow Lamborghini downtown and think to myself "Wow! People really do buy into this shit don't they?" Money does not afford taste.