In this issue we feature the Coral Castle in Homestead, FL. It was originally called “Rock Gate Park,” when it was built by one man working alone. It took him 20 years to build – from 1920 to 1940. His Name is Edward Leedskalnin. Ed was born in Latvia in 1887 and died in Miami in 1951. When Ed was 26, he was engaged to Agnes Scuffs who was 10 years younger than he. He always referred to her as “sweet sixteen.” On the day before the wedding, she told Ed she did not want to marry him because he was too old for her. In 1980 he knew that “sweet sixteen” was alive in Latvia – widowed – knew about the monument he built to her – but had never seen it. Ed was hurt by the rejection and left Latvia. He eventually ended up in South Florida about 1918 – 1920. He bought an acre on land for $12. He believed the United States was the land of opportunity – a place in which a person could become famous. For reasons unknown, Ed chose to carve a castle of coral and dedicate it to “sweet sixteen.” In 1936 he move his castle from Florida City to its present location at 28655 S. Dixie Highway, Homestead, Fl.

How did Ed move all these carvings a distance of 12 miles? Ed had the chassis of an old Republic truck on which he laid two rails. He had a friend with a tractor who moved the trailer from Florida City to Homestead. No one ever saw Ed loading or unloading the trailer. Why not? Ed did much of his work at night, by lantern light. He seemed to have a sixth sense which told him when someone was trying to spy on him. In 1940, after the carvings were in place, Ed finished erecting the castle walls.

THRONE ROOM Ed believed that every man’s house was his castle, and every castle should have a throne. Ed built himself a 5000 pound throne that also rocks. Behind his throne are thrones for “sweet sixteen” and a child. Directly behind the throne is one for his mother-in-law. Unlike all he other chairs, this one isn’t very comfortable. It seems that Ed had a sense of humor too.

In looking at these chairs and all other carvings, notice the absence of chisel marks. The only place you will see chisel marks are on some of the outer walls. Notice that the coral does not appear to have been carved. The appearance is that of natural growth. They were moved here from Florida City. This chair was desingned by Ed many yeas before ergonomic chairs hit the market and Is remarkably comfortable for an unpadded chair carved from rock!

Ed carved this table in the exact shape, and in direct proportion to, the size of the state of Florida. He even put Lake Okeechobee, Florida's largest lake, right where it should be on the map. He said it could be used as a fingerbowl, birdbath or punchbowl. All the chairs around the table are rocking chairs, and weigh approximately 1,000 pounds apiece. Sometimes, to show off a little, Ed would step on one, rock it to get it started, and run around the table doing the same to all chairs until he had all the chairs rocking at the same time. Ed said he carved the chair at the head of the table for the Governor of Florida, so that he and all the Senators and Representatives could sit around the table, rock their chairs, and figure out ways to raise your taxes.

Another remarkable accomplishment: Ed didn't have running water, so he dug this well. The water you see is fresh water; the water level is that of all subsurface water in south Florida. The lower chamber was carved by Ed while standing in water. Since Ed did not have electricity, he stored food in sealed jars in the well. We believe Ed used the well to cool himself during hot days, and for his food as well. The opening has an old tree trunk on its top that Ed used as a windlass. He could bring water up by means of a rope and a bucket.

Ed called this his "repentence corner". It was his idea for punishment of children who misbehaved. He said if they needed punishment, he would make them put their heads through the opening, wedge them in place with a block of wood, sit on the bench and talk to them. He thought that about an hour of this treatment would last for several months. The taller of the two openings is for Sweet Sixteen, in case she became sassy. Ed was the original male chauvenist; notice that he didn't make an opening for himself. No wonder he never married.

Whoever heard of a barbecue in 1930? But essentially, that's what this is. The fire is built in a pit, and pipe embedded below the fire serves as a downdraft. A whole in the roof vents the smoke. The cooking pot is the rear-end housing of an old Ford. It hangs on a pully riding on a rail. The food is placed in the container, which seals itself when taken off the stand and pushed over the fire. The sealed cooker actually acts as a pressure cooker - another first for Ed. He used this for cooking hotdogs for children who came to the Castle for school outings. It holds about a dozen hotdogs. He really did like children.

View of the throne room and the carved moon.

Ed's room was on the top floor of the turret. His living quarters were very small, about 16X12 ft. His workshop was on the ground floor.