My husband has wanted to come here ever since he was a kid, after hearing Leonard Nimoy talk about…read moreit on his show In Search Of....
Hubs told me about it, and then we heard about it together on Coast to Coast Am, early in our marriage. I had forgotten all about it until we were planning our trip to the Keys and my husband brought it up, so, we made it a priority to visit.
Homestead is basically the last city you hit on the mainland before you begin your journey through the Keys, so you don't really have to make special plans to get here if you're heading there.
Admission is $25 per adult, slightly less for children. With tax and a credit card convenience fee of $1.50, our total admission cost was $55. Personally, I think it was worth it, but then, I am into the weird stuff. The place can accomodate at least 100 people, but due to the oddity of the place and, I'm guessing, it's lack of notoriety, it doesn't seem to get very busy. There were maybe 25-30 people in the 2.5 hours we spent there.
Coral Castle is almost entirely outdoors and exposed to the elements, so it is not really a castle. There are sitting areas, a dining area, bathing area and one enclosed living (sleeping) area. The living area could be called a tower, as it is two floors, but
1) You only get to see the lower floor which is now kind of a tool shed museum and
2) You can peek in it, but you can't actually go in it.
Everything is made of a type of stone called oolite limestone. It is extremely strong and very heavy. The mystery of the castle is how it was built. How did one 5' tall man move multiple stones, weighing a ton or more, by himself? How did he make his stone chairs rock, and his stone gates turn? He claimed to know the secrets of the pyramid builders, and to this day, no one really knows how he did it.
There are guided tours at regularly scheduled intervals, and you can join in anytime at no additional charge (recommended), or you can walk around and look at everything yourself, but there is no signage. You can stay as long as you want and take as many pictures as you want as well.
There is a gift shop which has a cutout of Edward Leedskalnin, the man who built Coral Castle, that you can take a photo of or selfie with, along with the usual gift shop fare of shirts/sweatshirts, postcards, magnets, books, and other items.
If you're looking for something interesting and unusual to do on the way to the Keys, I highly suggest a stop here.
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