Abstract: Retaining wall building blocks for receiving fill material during construction of a retaining wall, retaining walls constructed with the building blocks and methods of manufacture of the building block wherein the block comprises a cast cement body having a base, a generally upright face wall extending upward from the base, two generally upright side walls extending upward from the base and generally rearward of the face wall, the base, upright face wall, and side walls each having an inner and an outer surface, the side walls each having a top and a rearward most end, and a fill receiving cavity defined by base inner surface, side wall inner surfaces and face wall inner surface for receiving fill material, the fill receiving cavity having a volume wherein a ratio of the volume of the fill receiving cavity to the volume of the retaining wall building block is at least 0.75:1, respectively.

Abstract: A polymeric retaining wall building block comprising a base, a generally upright face wall extending upward from the base, and two generally upright side walls extending upward from the base and generally rearward of the face wall. A fill receiving cavity is defined by inner surfaces of the base, face wall, and side walls for receiving fill material, such as earth, during construction of a retaining wall. The base, face wall, and side walls each have a mean thickness which is less than approximately 10% of the width of the block to maximize the volume of the fill receiving cavity, the width of the block being defined by the distance between outer surfaces of the side walls.

Abstract: A retaining wall building block comprises a face wall and two side walls extending rearwardly from the face wall from the opposite ends thereof with the face wall and two side walls being shaped and arranged such that the block has a generally C-shaped configuration as viewed from above. An ear projects outwardly from one of the side walls. A notch is provided in the other of the side walls for receiving the ear of a second building block of identical construction when the blocks are placed in side-by-side relation. The blocks may pivot relative to one another about a generally vertical axis such that a plurality of blocks of substantially identical construction may be selectively arranged in a variety of configurations ranging from a generally straight-line configuration, a generally convex configuration and a generally concave configuration.