Blocks of Beauty - Page 5

When stylish concrete walls of myriad patterns exploded into the mid-century’s popular culture
By Jack Levitan
Blocks of Beauty

10 Blocks that Rock

In their book, Concrete Screen Block: the Power of Pattern, Ron and Barbara Marshall have painstakingly charted nearly 250 original screen block patterns from the mid-century. Most of them, unfortunately, are not in production today.

Using the Marshalls' book as a guide, we've pinpointed ten stylish patterns from the era complementary to the design of MCM homes that are currently available from suppliers in the continental U.S. They are posted below along with their respective sources.

For additional patterns and information, please refer to the Marshalls' study.

Blocks of Beauty

1. FESTIVAL

Available from:
Orco Block (as 'La Fiesta')
Blocks of Beauty

2. VISTA-RAMA

Available from:
A-1 Block (as 'No. 501')
Carroll's Building Materials (as 'Maze')
Blocks of Beauty

3. EMPRESS

Available from:
Angelus Block (as 'Mar-Veil I')
Adams Products (as 'Mar-Veil I')
Carroll's Building Materials (as 'Large Diamond')
Orco Block (as 'Cordova')
Blocks of Beauty

4. HALF MOON

Available from:
Tankersley Concrete
Blocks of Beauty

5. MALTESE

Available from:
Angelus Block (as 'Coronado')
Blocks of Beauty

6. VISTA-VUE

Available from:
A-1 Block (as 'Square in Square')
Headwaters Concrete Products (as 'Square in Square')
Adams Products (as 'Mar-Veil IV')
Angelus Block (as 'View-Lite IV')
Carroll's Building Materials (as 'Double Square')
Fizzano Brothers (as 'Square Design')
Tankersley Concrete (as 'Box-in-Box')
Blocks of Beauty

7. RADIANT

Available from:
A-1 Block (as 'No. 410')
Carroll's Building Materials (as 'Bow & Arrow')
 
Blocks of Beauty

8. POMPEIAN

Available from:
Angelus Block
 
Blocks of Beauty

9. SUNFLOWER

Available from:
A-1 Block (as 'Flower')
Tankersley Concrete (as 'Flower')
Angelus Block (as 'View-Lite I') 
Basalite Concrete Products (as 'Cloverleaf')
Headwaters Concrete Products (as 'Cloverleaf')
Superlite Block (as 'El Dorado')
Fizzano Brothers (as 'Floral Design')
Orco Block (as 'La Costa')
St. Vrain Block (as '399')
Carroll's Building Materials (as 'Snowflake')
White Cement Specialties (as 'Snowflake')
Blocks of Beauty

10. CROSS DIAMOND

Available from:
A-1 Block (as 'Double X')
Angelus Block (as 'Vista')
Orco Block (as 'Vista')
Carroll's Building Materials (as 'Dos Equis')
A. Duchini Inc. (as 'Decorative X')
Superlite Block (as Sierra - Double X')

 

 

BLOCK SUPPLIER CONTACT INFO:
A-1 Block Corp. • Orlando, FL • a1block.com
A. Duchini Inc. • Erie, PA • duchini.com
Adams Products Co. • Morrisville, NC • adamsproducts.com
Angelus Block Co. • Burbank, CA • angelusblock.com
Basalite Concrete Products • Napa, CA • basalite.com
Carroll's Building Materials • St. Petersburg, FL • carrollsbuildingmaterials.com
Fizzano Brothers • Crum Lynne, PA • fizzano.com
Headwaters Concrete Products • Dallas, TX • boral.com
Orco Block Co. • Stanton, CA • orco.com
St. Vrain Block Co. • Dacono, CO • stvrainblock.com
Superlite Block • Phoenix, AZ • superliteblock.com
Tankersley Concrete Co. • Lewisburg, TN • tankersleyconcrete.com
White Cement Specialties • Venice, FL • whitecementspecialties.com

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