Coral Castle

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Coral Castle is a stone structure created by the Latvian-American eccentric, Edward Leedskalnin, north of the city of Homestead, Florida at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 (South Dixie Highway) and Southwest 288th Street (Biscayne Drive). The structure is comprised of numerous megalithic stones (mostly coral), each weighing several tons.

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[edit] History

As is noted in Joe Bullard's work, Waiting for Agnes, Leedskalnin was jilted by his 16-year-old fiancée Agnes Scuffs in Latvia, just one day before the wedding. Leaving for America, he came down with terminal tuberculosis but spontaneously healed, stating that magnets had some effect on his disease.

Hoping to somehow impress Scuffs, he spent over 28 years building the Coral Castle, refusing to allow anyone to view him while he worked. A few teenagers, who secretly witnessed his work, reported that he had caused the blocks of coral to move like hydrogen balloons. The only tool that Leedskalnin spoke of using was a "perpetual motion holder."

Many of the features of the castle are notable, including machines to tell time, a table with a flower planted in the middle (he stated that he wanted the table to have flowers on it every day of the year), home-made air conditioners and other electrical devices, as well as a nine-ton revolving door that is so well-balanced that a child could open it with the push of a single finger.

According to Bullard, many years after the castle was built, several Latvian tourists heard the story of Coral Castle and made contact with Scuffs, then in her 70s. Whenever Leedskalnin gave tours of the castle, people would ask him why he had spent all of his time and energy on the project. He'd look to the east toward Latvia and state he only hoped Scuffs would hear of or see his castle and realize his love for her.

Upon hearing this story, Scuffs responded, "I did not want to marry Edward when I was 16, and I don't want to marry him now." Leedskalnin died a few years later.

[edit] Controversy surrounding its construction

The structure is considered mysterious by some, mainly because it is often said that one man assembled the entire structure. However this is speculative. Leedskalnin seems to have gone to great lengths to ensure that he was not observed working. The Castle's official site states that "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." [1]

There are various theories that hold that Leedskalnin constructed the Castle using some unknown form of science. For example, one website claims that "Ed Leedskalnin left behind the blueprints of nature, a Secret Knowledge of the Ancients" [2]

Such theories seem to assume that Leedskalnin was the only person involved in constructing the Castle, and discount evidence such as photos which exist showing Leedskalnin working apparently using traditional methods [3].

The Coral Castle site states that "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." [4] He also stated that he had "discovered the secrets of the pyramids" [5], which of course could be interpreted in either esoteric or engineering terms.

The Coral Castle site claims that the structure "has baffled engineers and scientists!" [6] However a skeptical website claimed that "despite the information on their Web site, the Coral Castle information booth was unable to identify a single scientist or engineer who had specifically examined the castle" [7].

[edit] Trivia

Billy Idol wrote and recorded the song "Sweet Sixteen" and filmed the video in the Coral Castle. The song was inspired by the story of Leedskalnin's former love, Agnes Scuffs, who was the main reason Leedskalnin built the structure.

Contemporary Christian artist Andrew Peterson recorded a song entitled "The Coral Castle" as an unrequited love song from the point of view of Edward. It can be found on his album "Carried Along".

[edit] External links

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