How a Heartbroken Man Created This Florida Wonder Using Only Primitive Tools & Lantern Light

Coral Castle, Florida

The pyramids have competition in Florida. Edward Leedskalnin built this entire stone structure after being spurned by his love (Agnes Skuvst ) between 1923 and 1951. That’s 28 years building a castle from coral blocks that weigh as much as three trucks each.

The mind-boggling part? He did it solo using tools that looked like they came from Home Depot’s clearance rack and did most of the work at night using only a lantern.

He Used the Most Basic Tools

Leedskalnin only used hand tools like chisels, saws, and wedges to build his castle. But he also made use of tripods made from logs and tools fashioned from old car parts.

People sometimes saw him moving huge stones using just chains, ropes, and a basic pulley system. The total weight of the stones used in Coral Castle is estimated to be around 1,100 tons, comprising various sculptures and structures carved by Leedskalnin himself.

The Castle Used to Be in Another Place

Leedskalnin initially built the castle in Florida City around 1923 before deciding to move it. In 1936, Leedskalnin decided to move his whole castle 10 miles away to Homestead.

He borrowed a trailer and his friend’s tractor to move every single stone block, including the massive walls and towers. It took him three years to finish moving everything. After moving to Homestead, Leedskalnin continued to expand Coral Castle until 1951.

The Stone Gate Weighs Several Tons

The castle’s front gate weighs 9 tons and stands 8 feet tall. Edward Leedskalnin drilled a hole through the stone and inserted a metal shaft, allowing the gate to pivot on a repurposed truck bearing.

It has been repaired many times since it stopped functioning in 1986. In 2005, it required a team of six men and a crane to lift it for repairs. After renovations, it still balances perfectly, and you only need to push it with the same force you’d use to open a regular door.

There’s a Stone Sundial Somewhere in the Castle

Though the quarried stone slabs are large, they are lighter than they appear because the rock is porous. There’s a polar telescope that lets you observe celestial bodies.

There’s a special 22-ton stone sundial in the castle that works like a giant calendar. This huge stone stands 25 feet high and has markings that line up with the North Star, moon phases, and the changing seasons.

Limestone and Horoscopes

Each of the rock chairs (about 25 of them) weighs approximately half a ton (1,000 pounds) and is carved from single pieces of oolite limestone, commonly known as coral rock.

Made of solid rock, these chairs overlook a courtyard with a 5,000-pound seat and several other chairs, all cut from single pieces of coral rock. The triangular, gabled-roof shape on the north wall is Libra; the west wall, T-shaped and stocky, is Virgo.

There’s a Heart Table As Heavy as a Car

A huge heart-shaped table stands in the dining area, weighing as much as a car at 5,000 pounds. If you put a level on its surface, you’d find it’s almost perfectly flat, with only a tiny half-inch difference across its 8-foot width.

The table features a heart-shaped indentation at its center, which was intended to hold flowers. Leedskalnin carved both the table and its base from one piece of coral rock. The heart shape has smooth, even curves that still look perfect today.

Even the Water System Was Hand-Made

Under the castle runs a clever water system cut right into the bedrock. There’s a spiral well that goes 9.5 feet deep, along with spaces that clean the water and channels that catch and filter rain through layers of coral rock.

Some say Leedskalnin used a pulley system with a rope and bucket to draw water from the well. The gravity-driven flow helped irrigate the gardens during a time when there were no motor pumps.

Compasses Don’t Work Like Normal Here

Just like the Bermuda Triangle, this castle has mysterious alignments with the center’s gravity. The castle’s main structures line up exactly with magnetic north, making compasses behave strangely.

If you bring one near the Great Gate’s hinges, you’ll notice it responds to the Earth’s magnetic field. The magnetic effect is strongest when you walk around the tower bases and main entrance.

The Tower’s Centrepieces

In the middle of the castle stands a tall 28-ton obelisk (a single piece of coral rock) that weighs as much as a truck and reaches 40 feet high. You can see special symbols carved into its base, showing star patterns and geometric shapes.

Stroll past a two-story tower that served as Leedskalnin’s living quarters. In the sleeping quarters, you’ll find a generator, which Ed describes in his texts as a “perpetual motion holder”.

Even the Sounds Behave Strangely

There’s a reading room in the castle where the walls do something unusual with sound. If you whisper at certain spots, someone 30 feet away can hear you clearly, but normal talking gets muffled.

The Castle Garden is Absolutely Stunning

The flora that sneaks through the cracks in the coral includes pink bougainvillea and birds of paradise, the same sort that grows in your backyard. The castle gardens play home to the orange-headed agama, which was introduced to Florida after Hurricane Andrew in the 1990s.

Within the castle’s gardens, you’ll come across Elephant staghorn fern and vibrant yellow croton plants canvassing the coral rock walls.