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THE HARMONICS OF CORAL CASTLE by Capt. Bruce L. Cathie (Ret.) © 2001 sociable type and often invited visitors to what he called "Ed's Place" and showed them his remarkable accomplishments in the carving of stone. Over time, his work became an attraction for the locals and visi- tors to the area and he started to charge a small fee for admission. In 1936 Edward decided to move several miles to another location near Homestead. He purchased a 10-acre block of land and then had the problem of moving a few hun- dred tons of rock several miles up the road. He borrowed a neighbour's tractor and spent several months loading his bits and pieces by night and moving them by day. No one ever saw how he handled the pieces on and off the trailer. He named his new place "Rock Gate Park", and it eventually became known as "Coral Castle". The leg- end of Edward Leedskalnin had begun. Until his death in 1951, Ed lived almost the life of a hermit behind the eight-foot- high walls that surrounded his workplace. He kept the gate to the complex locked at all times, and if he was not too busy with his endeavours he would let visitors in for a small fee and then, with much pride, show them his accomplishments. Most visitors were obviously mystified as to how he could handle such massive blocks of stone on his own without the aid of heavy machinery. Ed's reply was that he knew the secrets of how they built the Great Pyramids. The Castle is now known as one of the authentic wonders of the world and the best example of stone construction in the United States. The coral rock in the surrounding walls, alone, raises the question of how such a small person could man-handle such weights. There is approximately 420 tons of coral rock, each block weighing an average of 6.5 tons, in the southern and western walls and around 240 tons in the eastern wall, within which are included: the Crescent of the East, 23 tons; the planet Mars, 18 tons; the planet Saturn, 18 tons; and the Obelisk, 28.5 tons. The heaviest cut stone in the complex is contained in the north wall and is said to weigh 30 tons. This complete wall contains 149.5 tons of coral rock. The Castle is entered through a nine-ton rock gate, which is perfectly balanced and swings open with very little effort. It sits on an old truck bearing and is held steady A Construction Technique that Defied Gravity? uring a holiday in the United States in 1975, my family and I visited a fascinating tourist attraction called "Coral Castle". The complex was built over a period of 25 years and consists of over 1,100 tons of sculptured and carved coral rock. In 1984 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 28655 S. Dixie Highway, Homestead, Florida. The "Castle" was created by a slight, five-foot-tall, 100-pound man called Edward Leedskalnin, working entirely alone. He was born in a small village close to Riga in Latvia in 1887. In his younger days he worked as a clerk and later took up stone masonry, an unlikely occupation for one so small and frail. In 1912 he was engaged to a girl of sixteen, but she can- celled the wedding the night before the cer- emony. them his accomplishments. on an old truck bearing and is held steady So Edward, completely heartbroken, left : the village and travelled first to Europe, then to Canada. During this time he became interested in science, astronomy and particularly Egyptian history. I believe it was possibly during this time of study that he came across some secret knowledge that allowed him to carry out the unbeliev- able feat of moving massive stone blocks without the help of modern machinery. For health reasons, Edward eventually left Canada and moved south to the United States, passing briefly through Washington state, California and Texas and finally set- tling in Florida. By that time it was 1918 and he was 31 years old. He purchased an acre of land in Florida City and it was there that he started using his stonemasonry skills. He began building what he called his monument to his "sweet sixteen". During the night he worked on his first coral sculptures and during the daylight hours continued his study of the science of magnetism and cosmic forces. He was a NEXUS + 49 OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2001 www.nexusmagazine.com