Decorative Concrete Block Designs

There’s Still Decorative Sunscreen Block Available For Your Retro Mid Century Modern Las Vegas Home

June 24th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Mid Century Modern

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I recently discovered that there were names for the patterns that we’ve been discussing for the last 2 months. Some of them can still be obtained.

Allied Building Materials, at 221 West Wyoming has 2 of the patterns in stock.

The butterfly or clover design that was number 6 in our series is really called “LaCosta”. Last week they had about 300 of them in stock. They’re $4.35 apiece.

 

 

The “Cordova” which was Pattern #11 in our series is in stock at Allied. They had 51 of them in stock at the same price of $4.34 per block.

 

 

Orco Block Company in Los Angeles is the manufacturer. They still make only 6 of the patterns including the La Costa and the Cordova above. They also have the following four patterns, and Allied can get them for you.

 

“La Fiesta” was #4 in the series, and is one of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

“Starfire” is real nice and seems to be a stretched out version of the Cordova.

 

 

 

The “Vista” is also available at the big box home improvement stores, though I don’t know if they get them for Orco. Vista can be found on the top row of thousands of block walls in the suburban concrete canyons.

 

And my new favorite, which I’ve NEVER seen in use in Las Vegas is called the MAR-JAN. Ther’s a similar suspended square in a single square block that was number 49 in the series. But I love wider double version of the Mar-Jan.

 

 

In one of the funny coincidences that happen to me all the time, I was in the middle of an email exchange with the sales manager at Orco when an email came in from Zane Donaldson. Zane sent the link to the lecture by Bill Krisel. At literaly the same moment that the Orco guy told me about Angelus Block, one of his competitors in LA, Zane sent the link and attached file with the block designs from Angelus.

Bill Krisel mentions Angelus Block as a primary supplier of the blocks he used in the 50’s and 60’s. Their website isn’t as good as Orco, but I did call, and they do carry some of the same designs as well as a few unique ones.

Angelus doesn’t have a distributor here, but they’re a lot closer than A-1 Block in Florida, which up till now was the only place I could find at all.

So, for the more than 2 dozen readers who emailed me or left comments asking where they could obtain some of these patterns, now you have the answer. If anyone else knows of any other manufacturers anywhere in the US, I’d sure appreciate finding out about them.

That, my friends, concludes our 2 month long adventure into the “Decorative, Retro, , Historic, Mid Century Modern Block Walls and Sunscreens of Very Vintage Vegas

I thank you for indulging me, and I certainly hope it gave you a new insight into an important element of Vintage Vegas.

Just remember, when the sunscreens disappear, you’ve left Vintage Vegas.

 

 

 

 

 

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Shadow Block Is Another Way To Integrate Design Into The Block Walls Of Vintage Las Vegas

June 23rd, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Home Repair and Remodel, Mid Century Modern

In the lecture by Bill Krisel, that we published last week, he mentions shadow block and integrating accent design into the building itself. There’s many marvelous examples all over vintage vegas.

“Buildings cast shadows” and they can’t be ignored.  These first two examples are from downtown homes in the historic John S. Park and Beverly Green Neighborhoods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another good example comes from the “Fleur De Lis” apartments off Maryland Parkway accross from the Boulevard Mall. Integrated design changes ordinary into gorgeous. I just wish the whole complex was better maintainted, but it’s worth finding them if you’re wanting to take a few minutes next time to see an amazing complex of mid century modernism.

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve been busy working on the block walls surrounding my own home. We finished the front painting this weekend. Our fences had the opposite of pop-outs. The design was created by leaving selected blocks out altogether.

This view from the neighbors yard also shows the broad overhangs, and exposed beams on my home.

I hope you don’t think I’ve been blowing smoke about being a mid mod enthusiast without actually living in - and loving  one of them.

 

But the holes in the fence does present a problem in the backyard, where we spent the weekend tuck pointing and prepping for the new paint job.

The beagles are obsessed with watching the neighbors. What happens in their yard is capable of setting off a chain reaction of dog barking for several blocks around us.

I’ve promised you in the past to tell you about where we can get our “decorative sunscreen” blocks locally, and I am building up to that for tomorrow. The series that we’ve been doing is what got me motivated to work on my own fences, and to research where to find 4×4x16 block. In doing so, I discovered a local source for some of our patterns.

 

My solution to the beagle problem is to turn some of the holes (especially the lower ones), if not all of them into popout shadow block instead.

The final decision is yet to be made whether to leave the soon to be installed block sticking out one inch or maybe 2 inches, or to create an actual ledge that could hold a planter or a piece of art.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also rounded up a few blocks of the right size that have holes in them that could create another type of accent. I’ve only got 5 of them, and haven’t decided whether to integrate them or not.

 

Of course, your input is welcome in the comments.

I’ll show you the finished outcome (if I ever take off another weekend) when we’re done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I Saved The BIGGEST Decorative Block For Last

June 19th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Mid Century Modern

Well, we finally made it to the end of the “official” series. I know some of you are real happy about that. Personally, I’m going to miss doing them.

 

 

These aren’t really blocks in the same way all of our others were. I think I’d describe them more as panels, but they achieve a similar effect. I didn’t measure them, but the look to me to be about 18”x24”

 

 

 

 

 

They’re on the front of the church at the corner of 6^th Street and St. Louis.

Once again, for future reference, you can see the whole series or in the future just click on the “decorative concrete block designs” in the category section of the left column.

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Pattern #50 At Last

June 18th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Mid Century Modern

I’ve really had fun showing these to you. This one, pattern #50 is really number 49 as I’ve said before.

It’s deeply cut, and has has 2 different mini-patterns criss-crossing each other.

 

 

I’m sure I’ve seen it in several places, and have spent the last month looking for it again. This is the only picture I had of it in the now almost empty folder.

Tomorrow, I hit you with the biggest and truly a one of a kind piece of decorative concrete.

To review them all, you can click on the link in the left column categories that says “decorative concrete block designs”

 

 

 

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Pattern #49 Of The Retro Sunscreens Of Vintage Las Vegas

June 17th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Mid Century Modern

This is as retro as you can get. A suspended square within a square.

It’s been lots of fun showing you all the different block patterns that can be found in Vintage Las Vegas.

 

This one makes an elegant sunscreen, and works beautifully as an accent in a divider wall.

Of course, living plants would make it even better.

 

 

 

 

If you’d like to see the whole series all at once, you can click here, or in the future if you want to reference them, you can go to the category section in the left column and click on “decorative concrete block designs”.

There’s only 2 more left of the actual patterns. I knew I had “about 50” of them, and since I accidentally used one of the patterns twice, that makes the real count exactly 50. Then of course I’ve got some bloopers to show you, as well as some other very creative uses of concrete block. So we’re not quite done yet.

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Historic Neighborhoods In Las Vegas Feature Many Mid Century Modern Homes - And Unique Architectural Concrete Block Designs

June 16th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Las Vegas Real Estate News, Mid Century Modern

One way to find out you’ve left “Vintage Vegas” is the decorative concrete block sunscreens, and fence patterns start to disappear. Except for the “Double X” and the “Double Y” (which are still used as the top row of blocks in the “cinderblock canyons” of the suburbs), you won’t find many neighborhoods built after 1970 where the patterns we’ve been showcasing are used at all. 1970 is generally considered the end of the Mid Century Modern era of architecture.

Just as you’ll stop seeing the decorative blocks as you get further and further away from the center of town, I’m running out of patterns to showcase. If you’ll remember, I guessed that there were about 50 of them, and today we get to look at pattern #48

 

I like the shadow box 3–D effect of many of our patterns. When the sunlight is just so, it changes the whole feel of the design.

 

 

This pattern, when laid out in rotating squares creates a sunburst design of it’s own.

 

 

And if you shift your focus you’ll find an excellent diamond shaped pattern hidden in the design

 

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The Mid Century Modern Decorative Sunscreens That Are Found In The Retro Neighborhoods Of Las Vegas

June 13th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Mid Century Modern

We’ve covered a lot of ground in our series. No one caught the mistake of a pattern that got repeated twice. I’m not going to re-number them, since no one else noticed.

There’s only a few left that we haven’t covered, and then there’s some bonus posts coming with some terrific designs done with just regular old concrete block. I might even go into the “mismatch” folder just to stretch out the series for as long as possible. 

Today’s is pattern #47 of the Mid Century Modern Sunscreen and Decorative Block Wall Series. I’ve only found this on the top of one wall in Francisco Park. The pictures aren’t real good, as it’s not a well maintained wall.

I took pictures twice of this pattern, and screwed up both times.

This shot was taken facing west, right at sunset, and I should have used a fill flash.

 

This time, I had the little wheel on the camera set to something besides “auto” and ended up with ugly blueish tint.

Either way, it makes some nice circles and crosses when you put the blocks together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Retro Las Vegas Neighborhoods Have Decorative Block Walls

June 10th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Mid Century Modern

Pattern 46 in our series was installed over a solid stuccoed surface on this home in Paradise Palms. So technically, it’s not a sunscreen, it’s just decorative.

 

 

I love it’s simplicity, and I can imagine what might happen if they were rotated. Here’s my first attempt at creating a design.

In reality, the one home that I found with this design has the legs of the pattern all faced in the same direction for a totally different look.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Retro Sun Screens Of Vintage Las Vegas - Pattern #45

June 9th, 2008 Categories: Decorative Concrete Block Designs, Mid Century Modern

It’s simple yet elegant, and does great things when laid out in reversing rows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you spot the circles? The diamonds? The scallops?

 

 

 

We’re getting close to the end of this series, but there’s some bonus posts also.