CORAL CASTLE

Coral Castle is a Miami attraction made of sculpted oolite limestone that softens the heart of the hardest human being.  It tells a tragic yet inspiring story like no other Florida tourist attraction.

Coral Castle, Homestead, Florida

Wikipedia has a long article on Edward Leedskalnin, and most of the information about him in this article is based on that.

Ed was born in Latvia in 1887 and at the age of 26 was engaged to be married. He was rejected the day before the scheduled wedding by his 16 year old fiancee, Agnes.

According to many sources, such as Wikipedia, he always referred to Agnes as his "Sweet Sixteen."

Ed left for America and ended up in the Pacific Northwest working as a logger in Oregon.  While there he came down with a serious case of tuberculosis. 

It apparently spontaneously healed and Ed stated that magnets had some effect on his disease. He eventually moved to Florida thinking the climate would be better for his health.

Ed Leedskalnin, Florida Memory

Ed Leedskalnin

In 1923 he purchased one acre of land in Florida City, an area which at the time had a very small population.

Ed was a small man, just over 5 feet tall and 100 pounds, but he built his castle without any outside help.

Coral Castle Crescent Moon
Flickr/Matthew Dillon

He apparently did not have any large machinery, yet he carved and sculpted and moved 1100 tons of limestone into what became the Coral Castle.

Ed created machines using old automobile parts and other scrapped materials. He stated once "I understand the laws of weight and leverage and I know the secrets of the people who built the pyramids."

CORAL CASTLE WAS ORIGINALLY IN FLORIDA CITY

He quarried, cut and moved these huge blocks of limestone using only tools and machines he made himself.

He started the work on his place in Florida City and when he opened his attraction to the public he called it Rock Gate Park.  He dedicated it to the girl who had jilted him.

Garden at Coral Castle
Flickr/Matthew Dillon

In 1936 he moved himself and all of his work 10 miles away to Homestead. He decided to move because a subdivision was being planned near his Florida City property and he wanted his privacy.

It took him 3 years to make the move using a homemade trailer and a friend's tractor.

Ed did much of his work at night by lantern light.  After all the carvings were in place in 1940, Ed finished erecting the walls. Each section of wall is 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 3 feet thick.

Coral Castle Entrance
Flickr/psyberartist

When people asked Ed how he moved the gigantic blocks of limestone, he would only reply that he understood the laws of weight and leverage well.

It is also known, from pamphlets he published, that he knew quite a bit about magnetism, electromagnetic waves, and electricity.

When Florida tourist attractions are discussed, many civil and structural engineers pronounce Coral Castle as their favorite. It is a fantastic piece of engineering and construction.

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/94170

Coral Castle is in essence a museum.  In addition to the carvings, there are other items to look at related to the construction. 

These include large flywheels, gears, solenoids, motors, coils, shafts, wiring, batteries, magnets and more.

He was no doubt a genius and had a fantastic understanding of not only how to quarry large limestone blocks, but how to construct tripods, pulleys, gears and more to move the blocks.

People have compared Ed’s secret method of construction to Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids.

In December 1951 Ed became ill. He put a sign on the door of his Castle saying “Going to the Hospital”. He took a bus to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Room in Coral Castle
Flickr/Matthew Dillon

Three days later he died in his sleep at the age of 64.

After his death, a box was found in the castle with 35 one-hundred dollar bills, Ed's life savings.

He had made the money from giving tours of the castle for admission fees ranging from 10 cents up to 25 cents.

Lounging in Chair at Coral Castle
Flickr/Amanda

Edward Leedskalnin’s life achievement, Coral Castle, an undying testimony of his great love for Agnes, took him from 1923-1951 to build.

It was his testimonial to Agnes.  Forever carved in stone, this castle is a timeless beauty that defines Ed’s undying Love for his “Sweet Sixteen”.

Coral Castle is on the National Register of Historic Places.

You will be impressed.

ADMISSION FEES

HOURS

• 9:00am to 6:00 pm, Sundays through Thursdays
• 9:00am to 7:00 pm, Fridays and Saturdays

DIRECTIONS

From the West: Take I-75 or Route 41 to Route 997 (US 27).Go South to SW 288th St., turn left and go to 157th Ave., turn left.

From the Northeast: Take turnpike extension from Miami, take exit # 5 (288th St.), go right for 2 miles to SW 157th Ave., turn right.

From the South: Go North on US Highway 1, turn right onto SW 288 St., turn left onto SW 157th Ave.