A Visit To Coral Castle

Sunday afternoon, the folks visited Coral Castle.  I hope this post is better than the one on Fruit and Spice Park.  BOL  Coral Castle was built by one man working alone.  It took him 20 years to complete.  Ed Leedskalnin was born in Latvia in 1887.  When he was 26, he was engaged to Agnes Scuffs who was 16.  The night before their wedding, she told Ed that she did not want to marry him because he was too old.  He always thought her mother didn't think he was rich enough or educated enough.  He had a fourth grade education. He was heart broken and he wandered for several years and eventually made his way to Florida around 1918-1920. He chose South Florida because he was told he had tuberculosis and the climate would be good for his health.  Ed was 5'5" and weighed only 100 pound.  We mention his size because it is quite amazing what he was able to build this on his own.

Ed created his castle for Agnes who he called "Sweet Sixteen".  She never visited, but she did know about the castle according to reports.  Mama thinks that Ed was obsessed with Agnes since he even built beds for the children he planned to have with her. Poor man. He even built a repentance corner for his kids and wife, which he never had.  He said if they misbehaved, he would make them put their heads through the opening, wedge them in place with a clock of wood and they would sit on a bench while he talked to them for about an hour.  He figured this would keep them in line for several months.  Yes, he had it all planned out except he never had the wife and children.  He died in 1951 at the age of 64.

When looking at the photos, remember that Ed worked totally alone and did not have machinery.  He did all the work with hand tools.  When he was asked how he did the work, he said he understood the laws of weight and leverage. He was a very private person and no one ever saw him work. 

Ed charged people $.25 to see his work.  The price is now $15 a person.

Ed's yard.

The cooker. The food is placed in the pot and it is lowered to the fire.  It is like a pressure cooker.

He created tables and chairs.

Tools that he used.

Ed

Ed's bed.  It hangs from the ceiling.

Ed's living quarters.  16 steps lead to the top.

Can you see the chairs towards the center.  There are chairs all over.  They are actually pretty comfortable.

Planets in the back.  See the moon?

Feast of Love Table - it is shaped like a heart.

Throne Room - Pictures really don't show it, but Ed's throne is here.  It weighs 5,000 pounds.  Sweet Sixteen's chair is there as well as a child's chair.  Directly behind Ed's throne is the mother-in-law's chair.  He designed it to be the most uncomfortable chair.

Nice view of a tree.

Florida table because it is shaped like Florida.

 

Ed's bathtub.

The well.

 

The quarry.  Each section of the walls around the castle are said to weigh 13,000 pounds.

There is a 9 ton gate which is considered to be Ed's most outstanding achievements, but it looks like Mama didn't take a photo of it.

Another picture of the wall.

Close up of one of the walls.

Mama thought it was interesting, but not worth $15 a person to her.  She did have a coupon, so their costs were $12 each. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Glad His Dad Is Not Ed Because He Wouldn't Want a Repentance Center