concrete blocks

A standard for foundations and later as a substructure under brick or other forms of cladding, concrete block is one of the most ubiquitous 20th-century building materials. An early form was the handmade picturesque rusticated concrete block. So called because the exposed surface resembled textured stone, rock-face block first appeared late in the 19th century when innovations in cement making made it possible to press concrete blocks on work sites.