lenny flank
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2016
- Messages
- 2,458
- Reaction score
- 13
OK, this is a seriously cool place…..
In 1912, a Latvian stonemason named Ed Leedskalnin was engaged to be married. When his 16-year-old bride-to-be Agnes left him at the altar, Ed left Lastvia, moved to the US, and ended up in Florida. Here, he began to construct a massive stone castle as a memorial to his “Sweet Sixteen”. Surrounded by a stone wall, the castle contained a number of multi-ton sculptures, chairs, tables, and gates. Working alone by lantern light, Ed never allowed anyone to watch him work and never told anyone how he was able to carve and move the huge blocks of stone by himself.
In 1936, a developer planned to build houses around his castle, so Ed bought another piece of land about ten miles away and moved all his rock pieces, on a flatbed truck. Here, he continued his work, adding carved stones until his death in 1951. Ed had no electricity, no power tools, no draft animals, and no helpers. He lived in his castle, in a two-story coral tower that he built himself, and supported himself only by charging people 25 cents a head to tour the site.
Since then, Ed’s Coral Castle has become world famous, as people have speculated wildly as to how he moved the stones and built the structures. Silly assertions have run to everything from flying saucers to antigravity waves to geomagnetic lei lines. The reality is far more mundane, since we can see some of the tools that Ed used, still stored in his toolshed—levers, pulleys, and determination.
I’d seen the castle so many times on TV that it was sort of an odd feeling to be standing here looking at it.
Here are some photos from a visit.
The main gate. Weighing 9 tons, the doorway was balanced on a truck axle and could be turned with one hand.
Mars, Saturn, and the Moon
The Moon Fountain
More photos of the Castle at my travel blog:
https://lennyflank.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/coral-castle/
In 1912, a Latvian stonemason named Ed Leedskalnin was engaged to be married. When his 16-year-old bride-to-be Agnes left him at the altar, Ed left Lastvia, moved to the US, and ended up in Florida. Here, he began to construct a massive stone castle as a memorial to his “Sweet Sixteen”. Surrounded by a stone wall, the castle contained a number of multi-ton sculptures, chairs, tables, and gates. Working alone by lantern light, Ed never allowed anyone to watch him work and never told anyone how he was able to carve and move the huge blocks of stone by himself.
In 1936, a developer planned to build houses around his castle, so Ed bought another piece of land about ten miles away and moved all his rock pieces, on a flatbed truck. Here, he continued his work, adding carved stones until his death in 1951. Ed had no electricity, no power tools, no draft animals, and no helpers. He lived in his castle, in a two-story coral tower that he built himself, and supported himself only by charging people 25 cents a head to tour the site.
Since then, Ed’s Coral Castle has become world famous, as people have speculated wildly as to how he moved the stones and built the structures. Silly assertions have run to everything from flying saucers to antigravity waves to geomagnetic lei lines. The reality is far more mundane, since we can see some of the tools that Ed used, still stored in his toolshed—levers, pulleys, and determination.
I’d seen the castle so many times on TV that it was sort of an odd feeling to be standing here looking at it.
Here are some photos from a visit.
The main gate. Weighing 9 tons, the doorway was balanced on a truck axle and could be turned with one hand.
Mars, Saturn, and the Moon
The Moon Fountain
More photos of the Castle at my travel blog:
https://lennyflank.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/coral-castle/
