Demoralisation tactic. Can't have anything beautiful to contrast with the modern GAE or people might notice how disgusting it is. They tore down beautiful buildings and replaced them with shite.

This has become more explicit with the tearing down of beautiful statues of heroes, replacing them with unattractive statues of the dregs of society. Not sure if the Bri'ish have started replacing their statues yet but this is what you can expect.