The Coral Castle

Crazy engineering

In Storm Gods, I reference the Coral Castle in Homestead Florida. I have to admit that as many times as I’ve made the drive to the Keys I’ve never stopped there. Mostly it’s the dog’s fault because I can’t bring him in, so that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Some friends came down for a visit and stopped for a tour. I was fascinated by the achievement of one man, Edward Leedskainan was born in Latvia in 1887. The five-foot tall, 100 pound man built the structure alone using techniques he claimed had been used to build the pyramids.

One of the marvels, which I used in the caves in the book is the entrance gate. Together, the stones total 1,110 tons — including a 9-ton gate, 5.8-ton walls, a 28-ton obelisk. Quarried in Florida City, he moved the stones 2.5 miles to Homestead where they were erected.

The beauty of the door is the picot hinge, which I also used in the story. Perfectly balanced the 9 ton gate opens with the touch of a finger.

No one knows how he built this structure alone, with fairly primitive tools. According to lore, he would stop work when anyone was watching and wait patiently for them to leave.