Well, I did it. Today I visited Coral Castle. Grew up a mile from it and moved down to about 4 Miles of it 3 1/2 years ago. Glad that this was the first time though, because I never would have appreciated it in my younger days.
What can I say. It's a marvelous structure. I spoke to a friend about it yesterday and he said there's no way that Edward Leedskalnin could have done it by himself. Well, the evidence suggests that he did. So a man five feet tall and weighing one hundred pounds was able to maneuver tons of coral rock with simple hand tools (many invented by him) and carve out designs for his love who ditched him. The people still around (when the video was created) who visited him as children say that no one ever saw him work. He probably did his work at night. For twenty years people noticed the structure growing larger before completion. He had moved most of the carvings from Florida City about 10 miles north using an old Republic truck, two rails on top, and a friend's tractor. He went to work using a modest portion of the 10 acres that he bought.
What is surprising, besides the miracle of moving tons of coral using simple tools, are the structures themselves. There are practically no chisel markings. Using this mass of coral he created rocking chairs, a lazy boy recliner (well, it's comfortable but is stationary), a telescope with added lens to view Polaris, a sun dial equipped with hour and half hour markings, two outdoor beds, tables, bath tub and a well. He also carved a time out for his future children (never happened) that he called the repentance room. In it was a carved hole for children to put their heads in to think about their missdeed. There was also one carved at eye level for his future wife (can't remember why she dumped him and he never got married).
It is unclear why he never revealed his secret. He was a very private man who lived modestly so I doubt that he was lying to puff up his reputation. He basically loved talking to people, especially children and would charge next to nothing to give tours. He claimed that he understood leverage and how to maneuver weight. He said that he knew the secrets of how the great paramids were constructed. The only thing that I am aware of in his views on government is that he seemed to think they raised taxes too much. He probably could have gained great wealth had he relinquished such information. The money he did make was seldom used as a couple thousand dollars were found in his room following his death.