One part of Coral Castle

 

 

  Coral Castle made by miracle of Love

 

                                                                                             Soo Yong Kim

 

   I visited the Coral Castle in Florida with my younger sister. The sculptor of the Coral Castle performed a miracle beyond human imagination. I was awed at an engineering marvel that has been compared with Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Giant pieces of coral rock were carved into a variety of objects by Edward Leedskcalnin as a tribute to unrequited love.

 

   Before I visited the Coral Castle, I visited Hemingway’s museum in Key West Island with my sister by invitation of my nephew living in Miami, Florida. On Miami beach, we visited the Charles Deering Estate and James Deering Estate. Charles and James were brothers and billionaires. They were so wealthy that they could build such luxurious mansions on several hundred acre’s lands with priceless treasures and antiques on display.

 

   To the contrary, Ed Leedskcalnin who was an immigrant from Latvia was very poor. I wonder how he could build such marvelous and remarkable sculptures to make the Coral Castle. I think it was possible only with the super power of love generated by him.

 

   The Coral Castle originally called “Rock Gate Park”, was built by one man, working alone. It took him 20 years to build – from 1920 to 1940. Ed was born in Latvia in 1887 and died in Miami in 1951. He was 64. When Ed was 26, he was engaged to marry Agnes Scuffs who was 10 years younger than he was. He always referred to her as “Sweet Sixteen”. On the day before the wedding, she told Ed she did not want to marry him because he was too old for her. In later years Ed believed there were other reasons for her rejecting him. He didn’t have any money; he had only a fourth grade education; and most important – he believed she loved someone else. In 1980, he knew that ‘Sweet Sixteen’ was alive in Latvia – widowed – knew about the monument Ed built to her – but had never seen it. Ed was hurt by the rejection and left Latvia.

 

   He had wandered for several years, and eventually he made his way to several different places and worked in various kinds of work. What makes Ed’s work remarkable in the fact that he was five feet tall and weighed 100 pounds. At some point during Ed’s wandering he developed tuberculosis. He was told that Southern Florida had a good climate; so he came here sometime during the 1918-1920 period. He bought some land. Ed chose to carve a castle of coral in dedication to ‘Sweet Sixteen’.

 

   Nobody saw him work. The remarkable feat was in cutting and moving huge coral blocks single-handedly using hand tools such as blocks, tackles, crude winches, and iron homemade wedges. Without any help, he excavated, carved and moved tons of coral rock. No one ever saw Ed loading or unloading the trailer. Ed did much of his work at night by the lantern light. The castle walls and gates prove his desire for privacy

 

   After Ed died, it was decided to make a tourist attraction of the Castle. Ed did not have another job; he devoted his life to building the Castle for his love.

 

   His marvelous works are as follows;

 

 

 

THE WALLS

 

The walls around the castle are composed of huge stones the largest weighing 29 tons. Space between the large stone are filled with small stones place so perfectly that no light shows through.

 

 

 

POLARIS TELESCOPE

 

The north wall contains over 150 tons of rock, and there you will find the Polaris telescope which is perfectly focused on the North Star. The telescope stands 25 feet high and weigh almost 30 tons.

 

 

 

SUN DIAL

 

Ed created his sundial to record the hours between 9 AM and 4 PM. Using the sun dial it is possible to determine Standard time within one minute or two a year round.

 

 

 

CRESCENT MOON AND PLANETS

 

Located within the east wall is the 20 feet tall Crescent of the east, which weighs over 23 tons. This carving was moved by Ed from Florida City. Closest to the North wall is the planet Mars, and next to it the planet Saturn.

 

 

 

THE GREAT OBELISK

 

This piece carved and moved single handedly by Ed weighs over 28 tons. It is larger than the great upright at Stonehenge. The hole in the top of the Obelisk in the shape of the Latvian star.

 

 

 

BEDROOM

 

The bedroom includes beds for Ed and his sweet sixteen along with those for his hoped for children to be. There is a rocking cradle, a child’s rocker and the children’s beds on a higher level.

 

 

 

HEART TABLE

 

Ed’s romantic demeanor is evidenced in the creation of the Feast of Love Table. Perfectly heart-shaped, it is a 5,000 pound’s table.

 

 

 

FLORIDA TABLE

 

Carved in the shape and proportion of the Sunshine State this 20 feet long table is surrounded by 10 chairs. Ed envisioned the chair at the head of the table to be for the Governor and the rest for the senators and representatives to sit around making plans to raise taxes.

 

 

 

THRONE ROOM

 

Ed believed that every man’s home was his castle and that every castle should have a throne. This one weighs 5000 pounds and it rocks. Sweet Sixteen has a throne also and so did a child. He even thought of making one for his future mother-in-law which he placed behind his and made it the most uncomfortable in the Castle.

 

 

 

CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUND

 

This group of carvings is based on the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. The table includes a cement which is porridge bowl.

 

 

 

MOON FOUNTAIN

 

The moon fountain is carved from three pieces of coral. There is a first quarter moon, a last quarter moon and a full moon which weighs 23 tons.

 

 

 

TOWER AND LIVING QUARTERS

 

Built of 4 to 9 ton rocks the total weight of this structure is over 240 tons. Ed’s tool room and lab for experiments with electricity and magnetic current are located below the living quarters.

 

 

 

NINE TON GATE

 

This gate is a mystery and a crowning testament to Ed’s genius. This perfectly balanced piece of stone can be turned by a child and it fits within a quarter of an inch of its surrounding walls.

 

  

 

   There are some more incredible carvings but I can’t illustrate everything in detail. I was amazed with his passion and unchangeable love for her. Even if she didn’t return to America to see Edward, he loved her until he died. He built the castle for her and expected her to come back to him. I was speechless at first sight of the castle. I couldn’t imagine that a small man created such a beautiful castle. It’s a mystery and wonder.

 

   After I saw everything in the castle, I associated it with the hunch-back, Quasimodo, who was the bell-ringer of Nortre Dame Cathedral Church in France. Quasimodo longs to be with other people, leading to his chance encounter with the enchanting Gypsy Esmeralda. Even though she didn’t pay any attention to him and ignored him, eventually Quasimodo fell in love with her.

 

   Both men were in love with each woman and their love led to a tragic end. However, Ed’s legacy lives on from generation to generation. He was praised for his incredible works as an artisan by visitors, even though it didn’t reward his love for her. But Quasimodo ended up committing suicide.  

 

   Both men were betrayed by women. But, Ed carved his love on coral rocks in a mysterious way and his love is alive vividly in his works. People marvel at his sculptures. On the contrary, Quasimodo was incarnated with revenge and lived a miserable life.

 

      I think that love is a very strong weapon which can destroy any obstacles and hardships. But unrequited love leads to a miserable life from time to time.