"Coral castle" Miami by vairab

Edward Leedskalnin was born in Riga, Latvia on August 10th, 1887. When Ed was 26 years old, he was engaged to be married to his one true Love, Agnes Scuffs. Agnes was ten years younger than Ed; he affectionately referred to Agnes as his “Sweet Sixteen”. Agnes cancelled the wedding just one day before the ceremony.

Heartbroken and deeply saddened by this tragic loss, Ed set out on a lifelong quest to create a monument to his lost love that has culminated into one of the world’s most remarkable accomplishments. Ed’s unusual creation is called the Coral Castle, (it was originally called “Rock Gate Park”). Ed without any outside assistance or large machinery single-handedly built the Coral Castle. He carved and sculpted over 1,100 tons of coral rock as a testimony to his lost love, Agnes.

What makes Ed’s work remarkable is the fact that he was just over 5 feet tall and weighed only 100 pounds. The coral that he worked on was sometimes 4,000 feet thick. Incredibly, he cut and moved huge coral blocks using only hand tools. He had acquired some skills working in lumber camps and came from a family of stone masons in Latvia. He drew on this knowledge and strength to cut and move these blocks.

Ed had lived in Canada, California, and Texas. Then he developed a touch of tuberculosis and decided to move to a better climate to help his condition. Ed moved to Florida in 1918. Ed remained in Florida City until about 1936. At that time, someone planned to build a subdivision near him. Being a private person, he decided to move. He came to Homestead and bought 10 acres of land in 1936. Ed spent the next three years moving the Coral Castle structures 10-miles to Homestead, Florida from Florida City.

How did Ed move all these carvings a distance of 10 miles? Ed had the chassis of an old Republic truck on which he laid two rails. He had a friend with a tractor move the loaded trailer from Florida City to Homestead. Ed lived a very simple life, he did not own a car. Instead, Ed would ride his bicycle 3.5 miles into town for food and supplies on a regular basis.

Many people have seen the coral carvings being moved along the Dixie Highway, but no one has actually ever seen Ed loading or unloading the trailer. Ed did much of his work at night by lantern light The Coral Castle has numerous lookouts along the Castle walls that were designed to help protect his privacy.

The castle’s walls and gates prove his private nature. In 1940, after the carvings were in place, Ed finished erecting the walls. The coral Walls approximately weigh 125 pounds per cubic foot. Each section of wall is 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide, 3 foot thick, and weighs more than 58 tons!

If anyone ever questioned Ed about how he moved the blocks of coral, Ed would only reply that he understood the laws of weight and leverage well. He even built an AC Current generator! This all from a man with only a fourth grade education. His incredible feats truly need to be witnessed in person in order to be appreciated . There is no record of anyone observing Ed carving in Florida City or in Homestead. He has baffled engineers and scientists! People have compared Ed’s secret method of construction to Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids.

The only written records Ed left to posterity are five pamphlets that he wrote. “ A Book in Every Home” which contains Ed’s thoughts on 3 subjects. “Sweet Sixteen, Domestic, and Political Views.” He wrote 3 pamphlets on “Magnetic Current”. His “Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Life” contains his beliefs on life’s cycle. These pamphlets are available only in our gift shop.

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

The Nine-ton Gate

The Nine-ton Gate is truly a monument to Ed's genius. The gate, originally used as a turnstile, is perfectly mounted and balanced so that a child can open it with the touch of a finger -a remarkable achievement considering its size and weight. The gate is approximately 80 inches wide by 92 inches tall and is 21 inches thick. The gate fits within a quarter of an inch of the walls on both sides. The mystery of the Nine-ton Gate has been documented on TV's "In Search or', "That's lncredible" and "P.M. Magazine." Publications ranging from Reader's Digest to the National Enquirer have sent reporters to the castle and numerous scientists and engineers have tried to seek the answer to this seemingly impossible feat. No one could discover how the diminuitive creator found the perfect center of gravity enabling the gate to be opened by the simple push of a finger.

Then, in 1986, the gate stopped opening. A team of engineers was brought in for consultation. In order to remove the gate, six men and a 50 ton crane were utilized. Once the gate was removed. it was discovered that Ed had centered and balanced the nine-ton piece of rock on an old truck bearing. He had drilled an almost perfectly round hole from top to bottom of the eight-foot-tall gate with no electric tools. Today , a laser-contrqlled high speed drill would be used to do the same work.

The Nine-ton Gate, complete with new bearings, a replaced shaft, new lubrication and a re-bonding of the stone pieces with a state- of-the-art adhesive, was lifted and set back into place on July 23rd, 1986

https://www.coralcastle.com/home.asp