It was sunny and 10.6C (51F) this morning. After my coffee, I did the 3km walk around the park. Hadn't gone far before I had to take my jacket off. It is warming up quickly!
By 11:00, it was 24C (75F) when we went to Coral Castle in Homestead. If you checked the website that I posted earlier, you will know about it. Regardless, I will describe our visit.
The Coral Castle is an engineering marvel that has been compared with Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. It was created by one man, a 5 foot tall 100 pound Latvian immigrant, Ed Leedskalnin, using only simple tools such as block & tackles, crude winches and iron wedges.
This part of Florida is composed of coral, in some places as much as 4,000 feet thick, covered with a very few inches of topsoil.
Upon arrival, we were given a brief introduction to the castle. Volunteer tour guides then took us on a fascinating and informative tour.
After being rejected the day before his wedding, Ed wandered for several years before settling in Florida City. For reasons unknown, he chose to carve a castle of coral in dedication to his lost love. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.
The walls around the castle are composed of huge stones, the largest weighing 29 tons. Spaces between the large stones are filled with small fist-sized stones placed so perfectly that no light shows through. Our tour started at the Three Ton Gate, which is triangulat in shape and weighs approximately 6,000 pounds. It is balanced on the axle of a Model T Ford. Ed put a Coca-Cola bottle neck on the end of the axle so he could lubricate the axle. I pushed this stone around with one finger!
Ed carved several "reading" chairs facing different directions, so depending on the time of day, he would have the light for reading over his shoulder. This 'lazyboy' is carved from one block of coral. It is exactly like the contour chairs you find today, yet it was carved 50 years ago. It was a very comfortable chair, particularly if you are 5 feet tall.
An incredible feature is the Polaris Telescope, which is carved in 2 pieces. The outer part is located 200 feet outside of the north wall. It is 25 feet tall and weighs approximately 40,000 pounds. There is a slanted opening in the upper part and a pair of crossed wires. The eyepiece, or inner part of the telescope is located in the wall. There is another slanted opening with crossed wires. At night, when both sets of crossed wires are aligned, the North Star (Polaris) will be seen.
Here, Marcel is about to look through the 'telescope'.
Located within the east wall is the 20 foot tall Crescent of the East, which weighs over 23 tons. There are also the planets Mars and Saturn (with the rings around it), weighing approximately 36,000 pounds each. These planets are part of the wall upon which they sit!
The Obelisk is an incredible achievement. This piece weighs approximately 57,000 pounds, stands 40 feet above the ground and 6 feet below. It is larger than the great upright at Stonehenge and it took Ed 3 days to place into position. The hole near the top is carved in the shape of the Latvian star. There is a working wind vane on its top.
Ed created a sundial ro record the hours between 9am and 4pm, which, he said, are the hours a man should work. The loops that are numbered are the hour loops; the unnumbered loops are the half hour loops. There is a small metal indicator just above the sun dial on the coral block. The point at which the shadow is cast will tell you the time within one or two minutes (Standard time only)
The 9 Ton gate is considered Ed's most outstanding achievement. The gate is approx. 80 inches wide by 92 inches tall by 21 inches thick. It weighs approx 18,000 pounds. What makes this gate so remarkable is that Ed found the exact centre of balance. Th gate could be moved using 1 finger to push it. The gate fits within 1/4 inch of the walls on both sides of it. The gate pivots on a rod and appears to be suspended from above. It rests on an automobile gear. The gate is uneven in its dimensions. This is what makes Ed's finding the centre of balance so remarkable. The gate has been probed, measured and X-rayed by many engineers and scientists. To date, no one has come forth with an acceptable explanation of how Ed did it.
There are many more fascinating displays in this 'castle', which would take all day to explain. Suffice it to say that Coral castle was built by one man with only a fourth grade education, working alone. It took him 20 years to build - from 1920 to 1940. He died in Miami in 1951.
We passed a couple of hours watching a motorhome try to get out of the sand. He had spun his wheels so much that the rear wheels were buried to the axles!
