Coral Castle is a structure made of oolite limestone created by Edward Leedskalnin, a Latvian-American man known for his unusual behavior. He was born in 1887 and died in 1951. The castle includes many large stones, each weighing several tons, shaped into different forms such as walls, tables, chairs, a crescent moon, a water fountain, and a sundial.

Although some people claim that Leedskalnin built the castle alone using reverse magnetism or supernatural powers, photos and eyewitness reports show that he used pulleys and other simple tools to move and shape the stones.

Today, Coral Castle is a privately owned tourist attraction located in an area of Miami-Dade County, Florida, that is not part of any city.

History

Coral Castle's promotional materials state that Edward Leedskalnin was 26 years old when his 16-year-old fiancée, Agnes Skuvst, in Latvia, ended their engagement just one day before their wedding. He left Latvia for the United States and reportedly suffered from tuberculosis that was thought to be deadly. He claimed that magnets helped him recover from the illness.

Leedskalnin spent over 28 years building Coral Castle. He did not allow anyone to watch him work, though some teenagers said they saw him move large pieces of coral as if they were floating. He mentioned using only one advanced tool, called a "perpetual motion holder."

Leedskalnin first built a structure named "Ed's Place" in Florida City, Florida, around 1923. He bought the land from Ruben Moser, whose wife had helped him during a severe tuberculosis illness. Florida City is the southernmost city in the United States not located on an island. At the time, the area was very remote and had little development. Leedskalnin moved the castle to its current location in 1936, relocating it 10 miles north to Homestead, Florida. He chose to move to protect his privacy after plans to develop the original site were discussed.

He named his new location "Rock Gate" after the large gate he built. He continued working on the castle until his death in 1951. Some parts of the newer castle were quarried from the land near the structure. The pool and pit near the southern wall were used as quarries, and the east and west quarries were later filled.

In Florida City, Leedskalnin charged visitors 10 cents to tour the castle. After moving to Homestead, he asked for donations of 25 cents but allowed free entry if visitors had no money. Signs at the front gate read "Ring Bell Twice." Leedskalnin would answer the bell and lead tours from his living quarters in the castle tower. He never explained how he built the castle, only saying, "It's not difficult if you know how."

When asked why he built the castle, Leedskalnin said it was for his "Sweet Sixteen," which is believed to refer to Agnes Skuvst. A Latvian account suggests her name was actually Hermīne Lūsis. In his book A Book in Every Home, Leedskalnin hinted that "Sweet Sixteen" was more of an ideal than a real person.

Leedskalnin fell ill in November 1951 and placed a sign at the gate saying, "Going to the Hospital." He traveled to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he suffered a stroke. He died 28 days later from pyelonephritis, a kidney infection, at age 64. His death certificate listed the cause as kidney failure due to infection and abscess.

After his death, $3,500 was found among his belongings. He earned income from tours, selling pamphlets about topics like magnetic currents, and selling part of his 10-acre property for the construction of U.S. Route 1. Since he had no will, the castle passed to his closest living relative in the United States, a nephew named Harry from Michigan.

Coral Castle's website states that Harry sold the castle to an Illinois family in 1953. However, this differs from the obituary of Julius Levin, a retired jeweler from Chicago, who claimed he purchased the land from the state of Florida in 1952 and may not have known about the castle.

The new owners turned the site into a tourist attraction and renamed it "Rock Gate Park," later changing it to "Coral Castle." In 1981, Levin sold the castle to Coral Castle, Inc., for $175,000. The company still owns the property today.

In 1984, the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places under the name "Rock Gate." The name was later changed to "Coral Castle" in 2011.

The stone sign inside the property that reads "Adm. 10c Drop Below" was not originally part of Coral Castle. Leedskalnin made it for his earlier location in Florida City when he stopped allowing free tours due to visitors damaging his plants. The sign was later donated and placed at the current site.

The Castle

The grounds of Coral Castle include 1,100 short tons (1,000 metric tons) of stones arranged as walls, carvings, furniture, and a castle tower. Many people incorrectly believe the stones are made of coral, but they are actually made of oolite, also called oolitic limestone. Oolite is a type of rock formed from small, round grains of carbonate that may contain fossil shells or coral. Miami Oolite is found in southeastern Florida, from Palm Beach County to the Florida Keys. This rock is often located just a few inches below the topsoil, as seen at the Coral Castle site.

The stones are joined without using mortar. They are stacked on top of each other, relying on their weight to hold them in place. The craftsmanship is very detailed, and the stones are fitted so tightly that no light passes through the gaps. The 8-foot-tall stones forming the perimeter wall are all the same height. Even after many years, the stones have not moved.

Features at Coral Castle include a two-story castle tower that was Leedskalnin’s home (walls made of 8-foot-high stone blocks), a working sundial, a polar telescope, an obelisk, a barbecue, a water well, a fountain, carvings of stars and planets, and many pieces of furniture. The furniture includes a heart-shaped table, a table shaped like Florida, twenty-five rocking chairs, chairs shaped like crescent moons, a bathtub, beds, and a throne.

Most items are made from single pieces of stone, each weighing about 15 short tons (14 metric tons) on average. The heaviest stone weighs 30 short tons (27 metric tons), and the tallest structures are two monoliths standing 25 feet (7.6 meters) tall.

A famous part of the castle is a 9-short-ton (8.2 metric ton) gate that is 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall and can rotate. This gate is famous for fitting within a quarter of an inch of the walls and being balanced so that a child could open it with a gentle push. The gate stopped working in 1986. To remove it, six men and a 50-short-ton (45 metric ton) crane were needed. Engineers later found that Leedskalnin had drilled a hole through the stone and inserted a metal shaft. The gate rested on an old truck bearing, and rust caused the gate to stop moving. The gate was repaired in 1986 and again in 2005, but it no longer moves as easily as before.

Coral Castle remains a popular place for visitors. Many books, magazines, and television shows have explored how Leedskalnin built the structure and moved stones weighing many tons. Claims that Leedskalnin never worked in public and that he floated the stones have been proven false. Orval Irwin reportedly saw Leedskalnin quarrying stones and building parts of the wall, and he described the methods in his book Mr. Can't Is Dead. A short film from 1944, produced by the Nemith Film Collection, shows Leedskalnin at work. Coral Castle’s website says, "If anyone ever asked Ed how he moved the blocks, he only said he understood the laws of weight and leverage well." He also mentioned he had "discovered the secrets of the pyramids," referring to the Great Pyramid of Giza.