The Amazing Coral Tourist Attraction Near Miami Florida

If you will be traveling near Miami or anywhere in the southern Florida region of the United States, you will undoubtedly want to check out the Coral Castle. Located just 10 miles from Florida City on Highway 1, this tourist attraction receives tens of thousands of visitors every year so they can admire and be amazed at one of America's only megalithic structures. Created less than 100 years ago, Edward Leedskalnin, better known as Ed, constructed an 1100 ton masterpiece made completely of coral, a structure only rivaled by more popular tourist destinations such as Stonehenge in England and the megaliths of Carnac located near Brittany, France.

The Coral Castle is a structure that is made entirely of coral or more specifically make oolitic limestone. Built over a forty-year period, this amazing structure was designed and built by one man without the use of any modern tools. Ed Leedskalnin weighed about 100 pounds and stood a mere 5 feet tall. Though his work history would have made him a strong man, it is doubtful that even the strongest person, with knowledge of weights and measures, could have created what you will find in Homestead Florida.

As the story goes, and Leedskalnin was engaged to be married to his sweetheart named Agnes Scuffs. Ed was infatuated with her and affectionately called her his "Sweet 16". Ed called her this because he was 26 years old at the time and she was nearly 16.

Just 24 hours before their betrothal, Ed received the bad news. Agnes no longer wanted to marry Ed. Though he loved her, she could not return his love in the same way. There are many possibilities as to the motivations that led Agnes to no longer want Ed in her life. It could have been his lack of education. It could've been his lack of money. Whatever the case, her rejection of him was firm and life-changing.

Ed's plans for marriage, for living with a woman and two streams for the rest of his life, and for children of his own was shattered. Completely devastated, he packed up the belongings he had been left the country of Latvia, the place that he called home for many years, and journey across the ocean to begin a new life.

It is said that Edward Leedskalnin wandered about for several years. After making his way to Canada, he then moved down into California and eventually arrived in Texas. He worked several types of jobs including the lumber camps in Canada and California. He is said to have also been part of at least one cattle drive in Texas.

For an unknown reason, Edward Leedskalnin left Texas and ended up in Florida City, Florida, where he was found by a real estate agent and his wife nearly dead lying on the ground. Despite the fears that surrounded those that had tuberculosis, this couple took Ed in. Ed's small and frail physique made him particularly susceptible to this disease. However, despite the odds stacked against him, he is one of the few people on record to have ever had a late stage case of tuberculosis and made a full recovery, a full recovery that may be attributed to his ability to manipulate stones.

Ed's small stature, standing only 5 feet tall and weighing a mere hundred pounds, may have been useful working on cattle drives and in the lumber industry, but it was no match for the tuberculosis that he found himself infected with. After being found near the dead in South Florida by a local realtor, through their kindness he was able to recover completely from this illness, something that was virtually unattainable in the latter stages of this disease. Once he was healthy enough, he purchased a single acre of land near Florida City where he began the construction of his monument to the woman that never loved him.

Ed's belief in the American dream was strong. He believed that America was the land of opportunity and that through hard work and focus anyone could become successful. Using techniques that are not known today, Edward Leedskalnin began to build one of the most amazing megalithic structures of the world a mere 80 years ago using the coral under the topsoil of his new acre of land.

The history of Florida is quite amazing, with coral playing a large role in the construction of the state itself. Over several thousand feet thick in some areas, coral can be easily found just a few inches under the topsoil. Ed's initial creations were domestic representations of things that related to the life that she wanted to have. He created chairs, tables, beds, and even a crib made of solid coral for the child that he would never have.

What is even more miraculous is that except for a few pictures but Ed allowed to be taken of him, no one ever saw him working. To this day, no one knows how Edward Leedskalnin extracted, carved, moved, and positioned the coral artifacts that you can see today.

Today, the Coral Castle is under the radar. Without shows such as "In Search Of" with Leonard Nimoy or "That's incredible!" of the early 80s, the notoriety of the Coral Castle remains under the radar with notable exceptions such as radio talk shows like Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.

In the 1980s, the most famous part of the Coral Castle, the 9 ton gate, stopped working because it had worn the ball bearings upon which it rested and turned flat. Engineers and workers from the University of Miami came to fix it, along with a 60 ton crane. After their attempt to fix this 18,000 pound door, it is still possible to turn this gate, but it is no longer perfectly balanced, something that Ed and did all by himself without the aid of engineers or a 60 ton crane to help in the lifting.

There are many notable tourist attractions throughout Florida including the Miami Seaquarium, Parrot Jungle Island, and Barnacle Historic State Park. However, if you do have a spare couple of hours and are in the Miami or Homestead area, take a trip to the Coral Castle and take one of their tours. You will be amazed by what you see, and ponder for days, or even years, how one person was able to move and carve such enormous blocks of coral. The Coral Castle is a place that you will never forget, and that engineers may never be able to comprehend.

May 24 2009 | vacation | No Comments »