Masonry units and structures formed therefrom

A masonry structure, comprising:

• a plurality of masonry units, each masonry unit including:
• a rectangular shaped base having a front edge and a rear edge, the front edge and the rear edge each including a recess formed therein;
• a pair of spaced apart sidewalls extending perpendicularly from the base and along a length of the base, the sidewalls and the base together defining a cavity configured for disposal of a fill material;
• and
• a pair of spaced apart bridges supported on the base, the bridges extending transversely between the sidewalls and each having a height less than a height of the sidewalls, wherein the masonry units are disposed adjacent to one another such that the front and rear edges of adjacent masonry units are in abutting engagement and form an enclosed passageway defined by the recesses of two adjacent masonry units;
• a plurality of first reinforcing bars arranged in parallel to one another to form a cage, the cage being supported by the bridges of the masonry units and disposed in the cavities of the masonry units;
• and
• at least one second reinforcing bar disposed in the enclosed passageway of two adjacent masonry units.

A concrete building block for constructing built structures, the concrete building block comprising:

• a rectangular shaped base having a front edge and a rear edge, the front edge and the rear edge each including a recess formed therein configured for disposal of a vertically disposed reinforcing bar, each recess having a semi-circular profile;
• a pair of spaced apart sidewalls extending perpendicularly from the base and along a length of the base, the sidewalls and the base together defining a cavity configured for disposal of a fill material;
• and
• a pair of spaced apart trapezoidal-shaped bridges supported on the base and configured for disposal of lengths of horizontally disposed reinforcing bars, the bridges extending transversely between the sidewalls and each having a height less than a height of the sidewalls.