Coral Castle
5' tall, 100-pound Edward Leedskalnin spent over 28 years building the Coral Castle, refusing to allow anyone to view him while he worked. It was originally located in Florida cIty but was later moved to its current location in Homestead.
Panoramic of Coral Castle interior
Original admission to Coral Castle was $.10. It was increased to $.25 once moved to Homestead.
Entrance is beautifully landscaped
Entrance is beautifully landscaped
My neighbor, Richard, tries out one of the Reading Chairs. Although the surfaces are obviously hard, the contours make the chairs quite comfortable.
Museum fountain and North Star sighting pillar
The Florida Table is self-explanatory. The finger bowl is supposed to be Lake Ockechobee
Museum fountain
The sundial was remarkably accurate. The numbered loops on the sun dial represent hours. The loops without numbers represent half hours.
The larger of the two North Star sighting pillars
Aligning the near cross-hairs with the cross-hairs in the larger sighting pillar will always point to the North Star
Aligning the near cross-hairs with the cross-hairs in the larger sighting pillar will always point to the North Star
![The 8-ton gate is carved so precisely that it fits within a quarter of an inch of the walls on both sides. It was so well-balanced that a child could open it with the push of a single finger. The mystery of the gate's perfectly balanced axis and the amazing ease with which it revolved lasted for decades until the gate suddenly stopped working in 1986. At that time, a team of engineers was brought in for consultation. In order to remove the gate, six men and a 50-short-ton (45 t) crane were utilized. Once the gate was removed, the engineers discovered how Leedskalnin had centered and balanced the 9-short-ton piece of rock. Leedskalnin had drilled a hole from top to bottom of the 8-foot-tall gate with no electric tools and inserted a metal shaft. The rock rested on an old truck bearing. It was the rusting out of this bearing that resulted in the gate's failure to revolve. The 9-short-ton gate, complete with new bearings, and a replaced shaft was lifted and set back into place on July 23, 1986.[13] The gate failed again in 2005 and was subsequently repaired, however it does not rotate with the same ease it once did.](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/Florida/Coral-Castle/i-StLVt4Z/0/c03fdb6d/XL/DSC_9812dxo-XL.jpg)
The 8-ton gate is carved so precisely that it fits within a quarter of an inch of the walls on both sides. It was so well-balanced that a child could open it with the push of a single finger. The mystery of the gate's perfectly balanced axis and the amazing ease with which it revolved lasted for decades until the gate suddenly stopped working in 1986. At that time, a team of engineers was brought in for consultation. In order to remove the gate, six men and a 50-short-ton (45 t) crane were utilized. Once the gate was removed, the engineers discovered how Leedskalnin had centered and balanced the 9-short-ton piece of rock. Leedskalnin had drilled a hole from top to bottom of the 8-foot-tall gate with no electric tools and inserted a metal shaft. The rock rested on an old truck bearing. It was the rusting out of this bearing that resulted in the gate's failure to revolve. The 9-short-ton gate, complete with new bearings, and a replaced shaft was lifted and set back into place on July 23, 1986.[13] The gate failed again in 2005 and was subsequently repaired, however it does not rotate with the same ease it once did.
Richard takes a break in the Throne Room
25-foot Obelisk
Ed's carvings indicating that he was born 1887 in Latvia and that the Castle was originally built in 1928 and subsequently moved from Florida City to Homestead in 1939
Feast of Love table
Feast of Love table
Grotto of Three Bears
Placard inside the Tool Shed
Ed's BBQ
Ed's BBQ
The coral furniture is surprisingly comfortable
The two-story structure in the background contained Ed's workshop (first floor) and living quarters (2nd floor)
Repentance Corner
Repentance Corner
Reading Chairs in the foreground, Florida Table dining area further back and the Polaris telescope in the background
Large rocking chair atop the Sun Dial structure
Eastern wall of Coral Castle showing Dry moat and Obelisk
Southern wall of Coral Castle showing dry moat
