Edward Leedskalnin - The King of the Coral Castle

By Dr. Abner Mality


When Edward Leedskalnin died of severe malnutrition in 1951, the numbers 7129/ 6105195 were found carved into a doorjamb of the strange abode where he had breathed his last. Like so many things about this amazing man, it remains a mystery, undeciphered and unknown.

Many might think the cryptic numbers to be of little importance. But in Ed's case, there is good reason to believe that the mysterious numeric code might indeed be of significance. For proof of Ed's vast knowledge, all one needs to do is visit the Coral Castle, the immense monument which Leedskalnin built literally by himself using methods not understood to this day.

The Coral Castle is one of the great sacred places of the world. In its way, it is even more impressive than the Egyptian Pyramids or Stonehenge. We know those ancient structures were constructed by many men, laboring over decades. But the Coral Castle of Edward Leedskalnin was built mostly by one man...a frail, 110-pound Latvian immigrant with a fourth grade education who toiled by himself in the dead of night, away from prying eyes that tried in vain to discover his secrets.

This enigmatic place is not at all hard to find. In fact, thousands of tourists a year visit Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida. Most of the complex was located in Florida City in the 1920's before Ed relocated it to Homestead in the mid-30's. He used truckers only to transport the gigantic blocks of coral that made up the Castle, but as far as reassembling the structure went, he did that completely by himself. One would think that such a frail man weighing barely 100 pounds would find it impossible to move even one block of such material, much less the hundreds of blocks that made up Coral Castle. But that is merely one of many mysteries surrounding Edward Leedskalnin.

What kind of place is Coral Castle exactly? It sits now on ten acres of land and consists of a meticulously laid out series of monolithic structures all made of coral. Each of the structures was quarried, shaped and placed by Leedskalnin alone. Even more amazingly, no concrete or mortar was used. The blocks of coral were all perfectly fitted together and balanced much as ancient architects built the pyramids. Ed later stated, "I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids and have found out how the Egyptians and ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan and Asia, with only primtive tools, raised and set in place blocks of stone weighing many tons!"

There are several notable objects in the Coral Castle complex. One of the most intriguing is a huge thirty ton obelisk that acts like a natural telescope. The circular hole at the top is aligned perfectly with the North Star and is as accurate as any high tech telescope. There is also a sundial that can tell time within two minutes.

Much like ancient monuments such as Stonehenge and the structures of the Mayans, Coral Castle is calibrated to astronomical specifications. Many of the objects within are meant to represent planets such as Mars and Saturn. One giant obelisk, around which many smaller designs are clustered is forty feet high and weighs 57,000 pounds, making it higher and heavier than the columns of Stonehenge. Yet Leedskalnin cut and placed it himself.

When entering the Coral Castle complex, the visitor enters through a gigantic block of coral weighing 9 tons. But the block is balanced so delicately upon an iron rod that a five year old child can open the massive door with one finger!

How was such an incredible structure built, mostly by one man? To this day, nobody knows. Edward Leedskalnin did not divulge his secrets yet he was not an unsociable man. The friendly and soft-spoken immigrant loved to give tours of Coral Castle, charging only ten cents a head. When asked how he built the complex, he would only smile and say, "It's not difficult if you know how." But rarely would he say anymore than that.

Leedskalnin wrote many treatises on magnetic energy and his radical theories of physics. He disagreed with all known science and claimed that every object in the universe is a magnetic generator of some kind. Ed said that with proper training, one could actually see the magnetic forces of the universe as tiny beads of light circulating between objects. Manipulation of these forces could result in control of weight, measurement and leverage. Gravity was merely another form of magnetism to be controlled.

Ed's books were written in a strange, rambling fashion and often contained bits of his unorthodox social advice. He would break off from a discussion of natural magnetism to give advice to young men wooing their girls. Needless to say, nobody has ever validated Ed's writings as authentic science. And yet, Coral Castle stands as a mute testimony to his theories.

Ed spent 30 years building Coral Castle by himself. Curiousity about the reclusive genius' methods became overwhelming and many tried to secretly spy on him to learn how he performed his miracles. But Ed never worked during the day. He toiled on the Castle only at night, often laboring until dawn. Somehow, he always knew when he was being watched. During those periods, he would putter around aimlessly and cease his work until the prying eyes of strangers left. Once in a while, though, someone would claim that they spied Leedskalnin working on the Castle. One such voyeur claimed that Ed "sang" to massive blocks of coral, causing them to float effortlessly through the air.

In 1934, one set of intruders was intent on more than merely spying on Ed. They believed the eccentric hermit had a fortune stashed away on his property and they tried to rob him. The diminutive Leedskalnin was severely beaten by the thugs and spent weeks in the hospital recuperating from their attack. As a result of the beating, he made the decision to move Coral Castle from Florida City to Homestead, where it still stands today. Others think that he moved the Castle to take advantage of more plentiful "earth energy" in the Homestead area.

Ed contracted a trucking company to haul Coral Castle to its new location in Homestead. The truckers carefully unloaded the huge coral blocks and objects at their new location, but did not assemble or arrange them in any way. The owner of the company offered to help Ed reassemble the structure but Leedskalnin refused politely, saying he would take care of it himself. The workers were baffled by the seemingly crazy man's insistence. Yet soon enough, Coral Castle began to take shape again, each piece perfectly located and locked in order, with apparently no one other than Ed working on the site.

Leedskalnin continued to live and work in the Coral Castle site until 1951. An intensely private man, he lived frugally in a small chamber carved right into one of the largest obelisks. He continued to provide tours for curious visitors and also kept writing and compiling theoretical treatises on magnetism and electricity. Never in the best of health, Edward seemed to completely neglect his physical well-being, failing to eat regularly. One day, he hung a sign saying "Going to the Hospital" on Coral Castle's main gate and took a bus to Jackson Memorial Hospital. After 3 days, Edward Leedskalnin died at age 64. His apparent life savings amounted to $3500.00.

His death left behind a host of unanswered questions, not the least of which were the secrets of how he did his work. But perhaps the greatest question of all was: why? Why did he build Coral Castle? What was the purpose of the cryptic structure?

When asked this question, Ed would gaze into the sky and say that he did it all for his "Sweet 16". And who was this "Sweet 16"? Research indicates it was a young Latvian girl named Agnes Scuffs who Ed fell hopelessly in love with in his younger days. One day before Ed was to marry Agnes, she called the wedding off. Heart-broken, Ed then moved to Florida and spent the next 30 years constructing Coral Castle.

In an open courtyard within the Castle, there sits a 5000 pound coral table carved in the pefect shape of a heart. A bright red ixora plant blooms in the middle of the table. There is no doubt that the table was constructed with Agnes in mind and in fact, Ripley's Believe It or Not declares the table to be the world's largest Valentine.

Coral Castle, built using amazing and unknown technology which could revolutionize life on this planet, seems to have been constructed as an incredibly extravagant monument to a lost love. Surely few men have labored as hard as Edward Leedskalnin to enshrine a lost love. But one can only wonder what would have happened if the eccentric and reclusive Latvian had decided to spend his talents on a less selfish pursuit.

Edward Leedskalnin may have been one of the most important men to ever be born on this planet but he chose to keep his knowledge to himself. Perhaps at some future date, we will finally be able to understand the secrets of the Coral Castle.

This is Dr. Abner Mality, turning out the lights....