A mystery in itself, Coral Castle is one of Miami’s strangest
and longest-lasting places of great interest. It was begun in 1920
when a Latvian gentleman called Edward Leedskalmin, lamenting over
his lost lover, decided to erect a structure in her memory. He raised
choral rock from the ground and began sculpturing and this eventually
evolved into an outdoor garden in 1940. When visiting, you can see
his living quarters, workshop and most impressively, the remarkable
choral structures themselves. These include the perfectly balanced
9-ton gate, the massive chairs which gently rock back and forth,
the 2-ton Valentine heart and the Florida Table which is directly
proportional to the state itself.
His huge achievement is still very much a mystery as nobody ever
actually saw him at work. How did he move these structures weighing
several tones?. How did he carve and shape the very hard rock using
only hand tools?. A 25-feet-tall Polaris Telescope also stands on
the grounds, and shows his amazing knowledge of both astronomy and
astrology. It opens 9am-7pm daily and attracts a huge amount of visitors
who are invariably left in awe at this remarkable and mysterious
achievement.
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