Coral Castle

28655 S Dixie Hwy, Homestead, FL 33033, USA

Address:	28655 S Dixie Hwy, Homestead, FL 33033, USA
Phone:	+1 305-248-6345
Site:	coralcastle.com
Rating:	4.2
Working:	8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–8PM 8AM–8PM 8AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

HereAndThereWith PatAndBob

Built during the 1920s and 1930s, Coral Castle, a monumental stone structure and sculpture garden, was built by a lonely immigrant from Latvia named Ed Leedskalnin. Its construction became a daunting force for creativity ‑ the embodiment of his broken heart carved in stone. In 1913, twenty-six year old Ed was jilted by his 16-year old fiancé, Agnes Scuffs, his “sweet sixteen”. On the day before the wedding, she said he was too old for her. Devastated and ashamed, Ed quickly left Latvia and headed to America where he worked in Canada, California, and Texas as a laborer in lumber camps and on cattle drives. Along the way Ed contracted Tuberculosis. To get relief for his ailing lungs, Ed made his way to Florida in 1920. He had been told the climate would give him a fighting chance to recover from what was at that time a nearly always fatal disease. Ed was on the verge of dying when Ruben Moser, a wealthy landowner and property developer in Florida City, found Ed lying in a heap on the side of the road. Moser picked him up, put him in the back of his car and took him home. Over the next few weeks, Moser’s wife, Frances, and daughter, Lois, helped to nurse Ed back to health in a nearly miraculous recovery. Moser sold Ed a one acre piece of land in Florida City, where Ed began to construct his first “Rock Gate” as he called it. Using hand-crafted primitive tools made from scrap auto parts, Leedskalnin, who was five feet tall (the size of a ten year old boy), never weighed more than around 100 pounds, and always worked alone in secrecy during the dark hours of the night. In 1925, Ed determined he needed a location with more privacy and space. He found a site in Homestead 10 miles up the road on US1. Ed deconstructed his sculpture garden and moved his massive stone structures on truck trailers he designed himself, which were then hauled by a neighbor’s tractor to Homestead. That is the only time Ed ever accepted help from anyone. Alone in the dark, Ed loaded and unloaded the massive fragile sculptures, making sure no one was watching. Now situated on a 10-acre site, Ed continued sculpting new creations. He built massive stone walls and a large tower to surround his sculptures and insure his privacy. Overall, he cut, carved, and moved over 1,100 tons of stones, some weighing more than 25 tons each, made from fragile fossilized coral reefs, without the use of electricity or mechanized construction equipment. He would often tell people he had figured out the secrets to building the great pyramids of Egypt and that he understood the laws of weight and leverage. Ed died alone in a hospital in 1951. Some people say he had acquired alien technology, others that he used magnets to levitate the stones, or that he was a brilliant engineer and stonemason. To this day no one knows how he moved the massive stones. My daughter Tara and I visited Coral Castle on May 16, 2014. Our expert museum guide, Patricia Paredes, (featured in the videos) was as enthusiastic about showing us around as we were to see the place. We are very grateful for all the time she gave us and in helping us to understand the magic and mysteries surrounding Ed Leedskalnin and his magnificent creations.

A Private User

Since you can pick your own tour guide, definitely ask for PATRICIA. She is the most knowledgeable, has been there for 5 years as of this writing (March 2012) and has an investigative and open mind. She spent about 2 hours with my partner and me and answered our questions very well. Coral Castle cannot be comprehended in terms of contemporary science and mechanics. If you have some knowledge of sacred geometry you will get more out of this place. If you dont, then Coral Castle offers you a chance to dwell on many mysteries both human and natural. Its an invitation for people to step outside their narrow, conditioned mentality, to a heightened state of imagination where incredible things become possible. What was so special about Ed, the creator of Coral Castle? His mind. The entrance fee is now $15 per adult. If you are sensitive to the Florida sun, try to go early morning or late afternoon. Theres little shade in the open areas of the Castle.

Valdis Valda dēls

Paldies muzeja darbinieciem par pacietīgu stāstīšanu. Nācās gan mums šo to pielabot stāstijumā, bet tā - cepuri nost- par Liedskalniņu zināja daudz! Ne mirkli nenožēloju, ka iegriezāmies šājā apskates objektā. Uzzināju daudz jauna, ko literaturā nebiju lasījis, kā arī bija iespēja visu apskatīt uz vietas. Tiešām fascinējošs darbs, kas godam nes Latvijas vārdu pasaulē!

Frederick Dixon

I have not been to the coral castle, but have seen the history of it on tv , If a person is board and looking for something to do, this probably isnt the place to go, The fascinating part of the coral castle is how Ed maneuvered the huge coral stone without any help or machine, Its said that Ed knew how to bypass the law of gravity, and today this is a mystery of how the coral castle was built. If a person is interested in the coral castle, I would suggest looking coral castle up on YouTube to see if its a interest to you. Understanding the related history of coral castle and the mystery is the thrill, its a place to look and understand the way it was built and why it was built. So dont take it for granted. Love this place :)

Liis Pitkänen

I visited this place after seeing all the other most important sights in Miami so I would recommend the others to do the same. If you are in the area for longer period, its a nice visit around 30 min up to an hour. If you are an engineer then one should visit it to see what can be done by human hands with no proper building tools. I didnt mind the cost as everything already costs up to 20 dollars in Miami. Basically you will be paying for the tour guide and I think it is fare enought as otherwise you wouldnt understand most of the things he created and how he created them. Its a masterpiece for sure and should be kept and shown for the public. Amazing things are done by some people in the world even its in a small area. I enjoyed it!

Alexandra Werkeiser

We flew into Miami to drive down to the Keys. Because this attraction is only a mile or two off the highway, it was convenient to stop by. I was with my parents and my teenage daughter and we were all interested in this place. We loved the history, the story and how beautiful it was. It didnt hurt that it was a beautiful spring day--I may not have been so excited if it was 100 degrees in the summer. If you are nearby and love history and unique things, it is definitely interesting to see. Dont go expecting a Disney experience, however you will be in awe of what this man created and the mystery of how he did it with only simple tools.

Andrea Clark

I saw several bad reviews and still came with the family. My mom has been talking about coming here for years and we decided this was they year. We had a great guide that took us through the whole place and talked about everything. It was really cool to see where the man lived and he had such a small area he called his room. He had made his own electricity and had his own water supply. Really was interesting to hear about it all. The staff I talked to were all very nice and most are retires from around the area. They encourage you to explore the place on your own after you were given the guided tour so you can hear everything first.