The attached sheet is page 415 from Nelson Burbank and Herbert Pfister’s 1968 House Construction Details. When I came across this page I wondered to myself if any of these decorative patterns or blocks had ever actually been used.  Almost immediately I started seeing the patterns and block types all over the place.  The fleur-de-lis screen block has evaded me so far but I’m not giving up on finding one here in Mississippi.  The captions give us a good insight to what manufactures, architects and builders thought process was at the time.

Decorative Concrete Block. House Construction Details by Burbank and Phister 1968. Scanned from Authors Copy

Print out a copy of the attached image and put it in your vehicle.  As you drive around Mississippi keep your eyes peeled.  If you see one of the block styles take a photo and cross it off your list.  When you’ve filled your list shout out ” Concrete block bingo!” loud enough for all us MissPresers to hear.  Then upload these photos to the Preservation in Mississippi Flickr page to prove you are a Mississippi Preservationist extraordinaire.  The Preservation In Mississippi Flickr page is currently celebrating having our 1000th upload and reaching the total of 50 members.  So if you have a Flickr account and some photos of Mississippi join us in the fun!

South Elevation Detail. The House of the Good Shepherd SVDP Office, Biloxi Harrison County. TRosell, MissPreservation.com02-02-13

Screen block Detail, The House of the Good Shepherd SVDP. Biloxi, Harrison County. TRosell, MissPreservation.com 02-02-13

As with any Bingo sheet you get a free square so here are photographs of the House of the Good Shepard S.V.D.P. Office.  Built in 1962 as the convent for Our Lady of Fatima hopefully its masonry screen to get you started and get the creative juices flowing.

Decorative Concrete Block. House Construction Details by Burbank and Phister 1968 .PDF

Happy Hunting!

Categories: Asides, Biloxi, Churches, Contest, Historic Preservation, Schools