The Coral Castle.

Posted by Alex in Architecture, Travel & Places on June 2, 2007 at 1:55 pm


Just one day before his wedding ceremony, Ed Leedskalnin was dumped by his girl. Heartbroken, he set out on a lifelong quest to create a monument on his lost love … for the next 28 years, Ed carved a fantastic castle out of 1,100 tons of coral rocks!

This is the result: Coral Castle – via Papelera21


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5 comments to "The Coral Castle."

  1. JF
    June 2nd, 2007 at 2:22 pm

    Ohhh! Something close to home. This place is awesome and the mystery surrounding even better.

    In truth, it is hard to say whether or not the history is 100% factual or simply exaggerated to help ticket sales.

    I always wanted to go digging around the microfilm in Miami (I am in Ft. Lauderdale) to try and verify their claims.

    Being somewhat skeptical, if it is true it is quite a feat.

  2. JF
    June 2nd, 2007 at 2:24 pm

    I was just about to upload some better pictures...but others beat me to the punch...

    http://flickr.com/search/?q=coral+castle

    The photos on their website suck.

  3. Andy Minnis
    June 2nd, 2007 at 7:01 pm

    it's a good article, and looks pretty impressive! Where did the coral come from though?

    Was it sustainable? what was the impact on what are some of the most endangered, precious and sensitive ecosystems in the world?

  4. K
    June 4th, 2007 at 5:23 pm

    Surprisingly, at least one of the ridiculous claims on the website is actually true. On the front page, it says "Even rock star Billy Idol wrote his hit song, 'Sweet Sixteen' about Ed's lost love."

    Here are some of the lyrics:

    Gave my heart an engagement ring
    She left everything
    Everything I gave her
    Sweet sixteen
    Built a moon
    For a rocking chair,
    Never guessed it would
    Rock her far from here
    Oh, oh, oh

    They even shot the video there.

    Comparing it to Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids is a little much, but hey, without bullshit, it wouldn't be as fun!

  5. Dave
    June 5th, 2007 at 11:12 am

    The most amazing part of the coral castle is that Ed (supposedly) built the entire thing with no outside help and no motorized equipment. Some of the blocks weigh several tons. One neat detail I recall is that there is a swinging gate that weighs 9 tons, and pivoted on an old truck bearing.

    Too bad old Ed wasn't more willing to share some of his secrets; we all could've learned something from him.


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