Coral Castle, Miami
Coral Castle (Miami, USA) – history, excursions, expositions. Exact address, telephone, cost of entrance tickets. Local legends and ghosts.
Coral Castle (sometimes called Rock Gate) was the embodiment of an eccentric idea of an American of Latvian origin, Edward Leedskalnin. This complex is not so much a castle as a cluster of numerous megaliths, each of which weighs several tons. The castle is now privately owned and serves as a vibrant and quirky tourist attraction in Miami-Dade County.
The history of Coral Castle is directly related to the history of love, and the “castle” is surrounded by numerous legends. Few of the tourists are not touched by the reasons why Leedskalnin manually and single-handedly dragged here and hewn all these giant stones. And, most importantly, no one can understand how he did it. Until now, the version is in progress that the matter could not have done without the use of reverse magnetism and / or supernatural abilities.
In 1984, Coral Castle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. See topschoolsoflaw for brief history of Kentucky.
The total weight of stone walls, furniture, decorative elements and the tower reaches 1000 tons. The stones are bonded without the use of mortar and are held together only by their own weight.
Legend has it that Lidskalnin’s 16-year-old fiancee left him in Latvia on the eve of the wedding. The rejected groom left for America, being almost in the terminal stage of tuberculosis. Here he suddenly recovered and later claimed that magnets had such an effect on him.
For more than 28 years, Edward has been building his Coral Castle, forbidding anyone to look at how he works. In his own words, the only tool he used was a “perpetual motion holder”. The castle, called “Rock Gate Park” by Leedskalnin, was completed in 1923 in Florida City (these places were completely wild at that time). In 1936, Leedskalnin decided to move to a new location and take the castle with him. It took another three years: it was necessary to drag all the stones over a distance of 16 km, to where they can be seen now.
The name “Coral Castle” is due to the fact that all the megaliths on the territory of the complex are processed blocks of limestone. And limestone is formed from coral.
After the move, Leedskalnin continued to work on the castle until his death in 1951. For viewing his creation, he charged visitors a fee of 10 cents and, when the visitors rang the bell twice, descended from the living quarters on the second floor of the castle tower and gave a tour. True, he never told a single living soul how he managed to build all this. The only explanation that could be heard from Leedskalnin during the tour: “It’s not difficult if you know how.” Periodically, he also hinted that he was well versed in working with weight and leverage and generally comprehended the secrets of the pyramids.
Today, on the territory of the castle, you can see stone walls, furniture, decorative elements and a tower, the total weight of which reaches 1000 tons. The stones are bonded without the use of mortar and are held together only by their own weight. The work is so precious that not a single gap can be found at the joints. Even after decades and after Hurricane Andrew (category five, by the way), the boulders have not moved an inch.
Among all the buildings on the territory of the castle, a two-story tower, in which the creator lived, stands out. Its walls are made of pieces of stone 2.5 m high. Also noteworthy are an accurate sundial, an obelisk, a barbecue place, a well, a fountain and numerous chairs, tables, a bed and even a throne. With a few exceptions, all these objects are made of monolithic blocks weighing an average of 14 tons each.
Edward said that he created the castle, inspired by his “cute sixteen”. This, in turn, inspired Billy Idol to write the hit song Sweet Sixteen.
Of particular surprise was the main gate of the castle weighing more than eight tons and 2.4 m high. They are carved so carefully that there is no gap of even 0.5 cm between the doors and the wall. In addition, the gate is so well balanced that even a child can open it by pressing a finger. The secret of the gate was preserved until 1986, when they stopped rotating. It took six people and a crane to remove the gate from its hinges. Only after this was done, the secret of the gate was revealed: Leedskalnin somehow drilled a through hole in them, into which he inserted a metal pin with a bearing.
Practical Information
Адрес: FL 33033, South Dixie Highway Miami, 28655.
The castle is located at the intersection of the South Dixie Highway (US 1) and 157th South West Avenue, north of Homestead.
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday from 8:00 to 18:00. Friday and Saturday until 20:00.
Admission: 18 USD for adults, 8 USD for children aged 7-12.
