Mar 25, 2012

Iconic Decorative Concrete Screen Block.

Palm Springs' homes are known for decorative concrete screen block walls.  They can be found throughout the City in almost every neighborhood with 1950s and 1960s modern homes. 

The Parker Hotel, Palm Springs.

The Parker Hotel, Palm Springs.

The utilitarian block transcends its humble purpose to provide a colorful feature.

The screen block provides privacy.

This block wall creates a secret garden entrance.  note: location was our pending purchase of a short-sale home we lost to the sellers' foreclosure.


The screen block helps to moderate the intense desert sun.

The screen block provides a sculptural element to the architecture.

We are luckily enough to have found a home that featured our favorite screen block pattern.  Unfortunately, the original installation was poorly designed and just plain ugly.




We wanted to re-configure the decorative screen block into a more welcoming configuration that enhanced the entry to the home while highlighting the screen block we love so much.  After some research, we discovered that sourcing these blocks locally is impossible.  The best option we found was to deconstruct the existing wall block by block, and reconstruct using the recycled block.









The new wall arises...






Ta da...



Once the mortar dries we will paint the blocks


3 comments:

  1. Wow! I am so impressed that you took the time and effort to dismantle and then reconfigure the screen block wall. For several years I've been excited about screen block. I just bought one piece at a thrift store and occasionally I find them at garage sales. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Where did you find that pattern of screen block?

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  3. Not sure if you read the entire post, but the blocks were recycled. That said, ORCO is making them again and you can often find them in-stock. Call any ORCO facility in SoCal.

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