Florida Trip: Coral Castle

Many monuments have been created as a symbol of LOVE; the story behind Coral Castle a less known place can be inspiring and intriguing as it represents a lost amour.  This is a Castle carved from fossilized corals found in a quarry in Florida. It is considered an engineer marvel and a mystery that no one really knows exactly how it was built. The coral blocks would be approximately 25 feet tall with an average weight of 30 tons making some stones taller than those in Stonehenge and heavier than those in the Pyramid of Giza. Originally known as “Rock Gate Park” the Castle was built in Florida City and it was eventually moved to Homestead, FL

 The legend started with Ed Leedskalnin, an immigrant from Latvia who was engaged to Agnes Scuff. Unfortunately, just one day before the wedding; Agnes broke off the engagement on the grounds of being too young (She was actually 10 years younger than Ed), leaving him heartbroken

To cope with this romance failure, Ed became a globe trekker; he worked in lumber camps in Canada and California. He spent some years in Texas and around 1918-1920, he moved to Southern Florida in search of good weather. Nobody could have imagined the strength he gained by previously doing demanding physical jobs would help him in building his “Florida Taj Mahal.”

Perhaps the weather inspired him or the coral found in the region gave him ideas, nobody knows, but Ed decided to carve his monument to honor Agnes, his sweet sixteen. The construction of the castle is history in itself. Ed worked at night with a lantern light making sure no one was observing him. To ensure privacy, he built first the Castle walls and gates. This amplified the mystery on how the castle was built. Considering that Ed was only 5’0 foot and 100 pounds, everybody wondered how he was able to erect a 9-ton gate and move blocks that would weight on average from 20 to 50 pounds.

The Castle resembles an “ideal home” of a typical married couple with kids. It has a living room with reading chairs, rocking chairs; a bedroom with two beds for him and Agnes and two small beds for children; a repentance corner (a place for child punishment); a bathroom; a BBQ Cooker; and a lovely Grotto of the three bears; this would have bed chairs for Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby bear.

One of the most impressive architects in the Castle is the Feast of Love Table, a 5000 pounds heart-shaped table with a heart-shape hole in the center where Ed planted an ixora flower which has been there for more than 70 years.  Valentine’s Day is a busy day in the Castle as many couples wed in this popular table which has also been featured in Ripley’s believe it or not due to its heaviness.  I wonder if the heaviness of this heart-shaped table represents the immense feelings he had for his Sweet Sixteen.

Other extraordinary pieces are the Polaris Telescope and the Sundial. Ed’s peculiar interest in astrology is clearly revealed in Coral Castle. The eyepiece of the telescope is actually encrusted in one of the Castle’s Walls and the telescope itself is 20 feet away from such wall. At night, visitors can actually see the North Star. By using the telescope, Ed studied the earth path and gained sufficient knowledge to build a Sundial which goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The only sundial of its kind in the world! You may wonder why only from 9 to 4? Well, Ed said that’s the schedule that a man should work and hence he was not interested in the hours outside of this range. 

Other astrological-inspired built creations are the Moon fountain with quarter moons on each side and a full moon in the center; the Planets which are aligned as Mars, Saturn and a moon crescent; and the Obelisque with carvings that denote the year Ed was born.    

In 1940, Ed opened the castle to the public charging $25 cents per tour. That allowed him to make a living in those years. When he became ill in 1951, he set up a sign stating “Going to the hospital” and he took bus to go to the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He never came back and died three days later. He never found another person to love after his heart broken experience.

Today, a National Registered Historic Places, the Castle is a museum that is reminiscent of what a human being is capable of doing specially to abate the sorrow of a lost love.

Some additional interesting key facts

-Ed is the author of 2 books that centers on domestic relations and politics and the Sweet Sixteen: The longest, A book in Every Home. He also published 3 pamphlets on magnetic current (mineral, vegetable and animal life)

-When Ed was asked how he was able to move such tall and heavy stones; he said that he studied the laws of weight and leverage.

-How exactly he built the castle is still unknown

-Some people thought Ed was alien.

-Some people believed he used magnet to move the big stones

-Inside the Castle there is table with the shape of the Florida State with a carved small hole simulating Okeechobee Lake (used as a bird bath.) Around the table there are rocky chairs and one chair was specially done for the Governor of Florida. One of Ed’s dream was to give a speech to the governor.