Miami’s Greatest Mystery Is A Tourist Attraction
If you are traveling in southern Florida, and you are near the Miami area, you should stop by one of the most interesting tourist attractions that you will ever see.
The Coral Castle Castle was originally called Rock Gate Park. It was built by one man working by himself for over 20 years. From’20 until’40, Edward Leedskalnin, more commonly known in the South Florida area as Ed, dedicated most of his adult life to creating this megalithic wonder.
The story is that Edward Leedskalnin was engaged to his childhood sweetheart whose name was Agnes. Ed loved her and called her his Sweet 16. This had to do with their age difference of 10 years.
On the day before the wedding, Agnes told Ed that she did not want to marry him anymore. Many theories have arisen for her rejection of him. Some say that he was too poor for her standards. Others believe that it was his lack of education having only gone to school up until the fourth grade.
Regardless of the reason, this event changed the course of Ed’s life. He decided to pack up everything that he had in his hometown of Latvia and journey to Canada to start a new life.
It is said to have wandered for many years, working at lumber camps throughout Canada and California. He ended up working on cattle drives which took Edward into Texas.
Visitors of coral castle can actually believe that these labor intensive jobs actually helped and prepared to make his 1100 tons structure. What is sad, and even confusing, is that this very strong man almost died from contracting tuberculosis before any of this ever began.
Weighing only 100 pounds and standing a mere 5 feet tall, with the help of a local realtor and his life, Edward Leedskalnin fully recovered from his tuberculosis. Between the years’18 in’20, had purchased a single acre of ground in Florida City from the realtor that helped save his life. He purchased it for $12 and began to work his magic with coral.
One of the reasons that most immigrants come to America is that they believe that our country is the land of opportunity and that through hard work and determination you can create a successful life of your own. This belief, and his love for his Sweet 16, caused Ed to begin though they Coral Castle.
This area of Florida has several thousand feet of coral extended beneath the topsoil. This provided with plenty of working material to create his coral home which consisted of chairs, beds, and interesting artifacts all made out of coral stone.
One of the mysteries surrounding Ed is that no one ever saw him working. There are a few pictures which show him posing at his site, but no one actually ever saw him lift or move a single piece of coral.
It created many amazing coral pieces including what is called the Polaris telescope. It is a single piece of coral that is so perfectly carved and positioned that you can look through a triangular eyepiece and see the Northstar every night.
Although it is no longer with us, and his secret long forgotten or lost, his megalithic structure continues to be a topic of amazement with those that cannot understand how a 100 pound man with a fourth grade education could have made such an amazing structure.
It is literally only a 30 minute drive from Miami. Take an hour out of your day to not only see one of the most amazing tourist attractions in South Florida. You will not be disappointed and you will be left completely amazed.
Find out more information on the Coral Castle today