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Stone Construction Equipment
QUESTION:Coral Castle, in Homestead, Florida, was built between 1920-1940 by
Latvian immigrant, Edward Leekskalnin, for his lost love, "Sweet
Sixteen." It was carved from more than 1100 tons of solid coral
bedrock (one of nature's hardest substances). Coral rock shreds human
flesh and breaks modern diamond-tipped saws and drill bits. Yet, using
only simple chains, pulleys, and recycled auto parts, Leedskalnin not
only removed bedrock from the ground, but shaped and hoisted the rocks
into precise alignments. No 600-horsepower cranes were available at
the time. He worked alone, at night, and left few notes on how he
created his curious collection of massive stone sculptures. A number
of the pieces were signed ''Ed'' by the slight, 95-pound man who
barely topped 5 feet.
People who knew him say he was not a hermit, but gregarious and
outgoing. Leedskalnin had only a fourth-grade education and his
notebooks, filled with his diagrams for magnetism and electrical
experiments, show just how little comprehension of physics he had.
This rudimentary research has never been tied to construction
techniques that could have been used to manipulate the multi-ton
blocks of stone.
The story of this fantastic place began over a half-century ago when
Edward Leedskalnin came to the United States. He chose a
sparsely-settled section of Florida because he "wanted to get away
from the world." His labors began as a way of getting over his
unrequited love for his "Sweet Sixteen," a young girl who had jilted
him for another on the eve of their wedding in his native Latvia. A
neighbor permitted Leedskalnin to use a small plot of land where he
built a house from logs culled from the surrounding pines and coral
rock which he quarried on premises. Thus began his strange and unusual
odyssey which would culminate 25 years later in Coral Castle.
Coral Castle is set on a 10-acre tract of land, the castle proper is
surrounded by an eight-foot-high wall made from huge blocks of coral
rock, each weighing several tons. The coral block walls butt together
in a clean, tight fit, intact after four decades, despite having been
constructed without cement.
Behind the huge walls, in beautiful settings, is the tower which alone
is 243 tons. Its first floor Leedskalnin used as a workshop; the
second floor housed his living quarters. An air of mystery pervaded
his quarters since no one was permitted inside.
Coral Castle has a rocking chair, weighing thousands of pounds, which
is so delicately balanced it moves with the slightest touch of a
finger. There's a subterranean stone refrigerator reached by a
one-piece spiral staircase. Leedskalnin's famous nine-ton gate is in
the east wall.
Leedskalnin sculpted an ingenious Polaris telescope 25 feet high, a
cradle and rocking chair that rock. The furniture have had their
jagged coral shaped and shaved until the subtle indentations are
smoothed like soapstone and hold a person as comfortably as an easy
chair. Three grouped chairs catch sunlight in sequence, morning,
afternoon, and evening, times at which Ed liked to read his
newspapers. One table is hewn from solid coral rock into the shape of
the state of Florida and another cut into the shape of a heart with a
beautiful ever-blooming floral centerpiece growing out of the center
of this rock table. The only uncomfortable piece is a cramped chair
dubbed ''the mother-in-law seat'' by tour guides.
A crescent moon was sculpted from a 30-ton rock. Flanking it, stand
Mars and a ringed Saturn, each the size of a Volvo popped on end, but
made of solid rock. An obelisk stretches toward the sky. It weighs 28
tons. And all were set in place with simple hand tools.
Leedskalnin never shared the secret of how he was able to move huge
coral rocks weighing up to 35 tons. If asked, he said he knew the
secrets the ancient Egyptians used to build the great pyramids!! His
secrets died with him; Leedskalnin passed away in a Miami hospital in
December, 1951. Recognition of Edward Leedskalnin's tribute to his
"Sweet Sixteen" is acknowledged today as one of the finest examples of
massive stone construction in America.
One who knew Leedskalnin said that many people tried to catch
Leedskalnin in the act of moving a stone so that his method would be
known but he always seemed to know when he was being watched. Another
person said he "sang to the stones," placing his hands on the stone to
be lifted and singing... which somehow made the stone lighter.
ANSWER: His "theories" are charming and hilarious. I especially like the part
where he invites the reader, in case of disagreement, to come up with his
own theories and write them in the spaces provided. However, it doesn't
take a physicist to recognise that Mr. Leedskalkin's theories have nothing
to do with the physical reality that we live in.
His castle is indeed an impressive achievement. I spent most of a day there.
Leverage. Pulleys. Shear legs. Block and tackle. Sweat. And no reason to
hurry. The main *reason* I found the castle so fascinating, I think, was
the challenge of figuring out his methods. The clues are there, if you
look for them. Anchor points. Lift points. The depressions his gin poles
left in the soft coral rock.
Well, perhaps you'll concede he was just a trifle eccentric. How many
people do YOU know who would be willing to spend twenty or thirty years
building a stone castle all by themselves? I have taken the liberty to include some of your message for
commentary. Thank you in advance for keeping it civil. In advance, I
must state with incredulity your apparent attitude towards this
subject. In short, you, sir, appear to be a "know it all". Are you,
sir, an expert architect or engineer? If so, why aren't you teaching?
For I have heard their commentary and they, sir, say the feat was
impossible - even when confronted with the reality of the
construction!
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