Coral Castle is an engineering marvel that has been compared with Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Coral weighs approximately 125 pounds per cubc foot. Each section of wall is 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide, 3 feet thick, and weighs approximately 13,000 pounds. The signs on the walls were placed there by Ed.

Coral Castle is an engineering marvel that has been compared with Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Coral weighs approximately 125 pounds per cubc foot. Each section of wall is 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide, 3 feet thick, and weighs approximately 13,000 pounds. The signs on the walls were placed there by Ed.

On the grounds outside of Coral Castle

Map of Coral Castle

Coral Castle is an engineering marvel that has been compared with Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Coral weighs approximately 125 pounds per cubc foot. Each section of wall is 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide, 3 feet thick, and weighs approximately 13,000 pounds. The signs on the walls were placed there by Ed.

On the grounds outside of Coral Castle

Inside Coral Castle

Inside Coral Castle

Inside Coral Castle

The Traveller's Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) is a species of plant from Madagascar. It is not a true palm but a member of the bird-of-paradise family.

Reading Chairs - Ed did not have electric power and he said that he could sit in the chair on the right in the morning, and with the sun in the east, the light for reading would be over his shoulder. At noon and in the early afternoon, he could sit in the center chair. The chair and footstool are carved from one block of coral. It is exactly like the contour chairs that are found today, yet it was carved 50 years ago. It is a very comfortable chair, particularly if you are 5 feet tall. Ed left space on each side of the foot rest so that persons with longer legs could sit in the chair and be comfortable.

Florida Table (front right) and Chairs - Ed carved this table in the exact and in direct proportion to the size of the State of Florida. He even put Lake Okeechobee, Florida's largest lake, right where it should be on the map. He said it could be used as a finger bowl, bird bath, or punch bowl. All of the chairs around the table weigh approximately 1,000 pounds a piece.

Sun Dial - Ed used the telescope to observe and record the path the earth travels. As a result of these observations, Ed was able to construct this sun dial. He numbered the sun dial from 9 to 4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. He said those were the hours that a man should work, and he was not interested in the other hours. It is suspected that the walls and trees planted throughout the Castle would have blocked out the sun made observing time impossible. The loops that are numbered are the hour loops; the unnumbered loops are the half hour loops.

Ed's First Rocking Chair - On top of this block of coral is the first rocking chair Ed built. He was very proud of it and placed it where people were sure to see it.

Polaris Telescope - Ed carved this telescope in two pieces. The outer part is located 20 feet outside of the wall of the Castle. It is 25 feet tall and weighs approximately 40,000 pounds. It was completed in 1940. There is a slanted opening and crossed wires in the upper part of the telescope. The eyepiece or inner part of the telescope is located in the wall adjacent to the opening in the Castle wall; it also has a slanted opening and crossed wires. [The eyepiece can be seen two photos to the right.] At night, when both sets of crossed wires are aligned, the North Star (Polaris) can be seen. Polaris is a fixed star with only slight movement and will always be seen through the telescope. It was by means of Ed's observations through the telescope that he obtained the data needed to build his sun dial.

Polaris Telescope - Ed carved this telescope in two pieces. The outer part is located 20 feet outside of the wall of the Castle. It is 25 feet tall and weighs approximately 40,000 pounds. It was completed in 1940. There is a slanted opening and crossed wires in the upper part of the telescope. The eyepiece or inner part of the telescope is located in the wall adjacent to the opening in the Castle wall; it also has a slanted opening and crossed wires. [The eyepiece can be seen two photos to the right.] At night, when both sets of crossed wires are aligned, the North Star (Polaris) can be seen. Polaris is a fixed star with only slight movement and will always be seen through the telescope. It was by means of Ed's observations through the telescope that he obtained the data needed to build his sun dial.

Polaris Telescope - Ed carved this telescope in two pieces. The outer part is located 20 feet outside of the wall of the Castle. It is 25 feet tall and weighs approximately 40,000 pounds. It was completed in 1940. There is a slanted opening and crossed wires in the upper part of the telescope. The eyepiece or inner part of the telescope is located in the wall adjacent to the opening in the Castle wall; it also has a slanted opening and crossed wires. [The eyepiece can be seen two photos to the right.] At night, when both sets of crossed wires are aligned, the North Star (Polaris) can be seen. Polaris is a fixed star with only slight movement and will always be seen through the telescope. It was by means of Ed's observations through the telescope that he obtained the data needed to build his sun dial.

The eyepiece or inner part of the telescope, which is located in the wall adjacent to the opening in the Castle wall.

Inside Coral Castle

Inside Coral Castle

Bougainvillea - Inside Coral Castle

Bougainvillea - Inside Coral Castle

Moon Fountain - There are three pieces to this fountain. The fountain itself is the third piece of coral, which represents the full moon. The first and last quarters of the moon (the other two pieces of the fountain shown in the previous photo) each weigh 23 tons. Ed used this part as a fish pond. He usually had fish and water hyacinths in the pond and expected visitors to stop and look at his pond. Coral is very porous so Ed lined the pond with cement. He built a star island in the center of the moon pond and scalloped the edge to make it more attractive. The raised from were for tall people to lean on and the lower rim for short people and children.

Planets - Far left is Mars. Ed believed that there was life on Mars,and as an indication of this belief, Ed placed a Palmetto plant in the carving. This piece weighs approximately 36,000 pounds. Next to Mars is Saturn, identified by the rings around it. It also weighs 36,000 pounds. Ed called the crescent moon next to Saturn the "Crescent of the East." It weights approximately 46,000 pounds. The piece was moved from Florida City. Mars and Saturn are part of the wall they are sitting on.