Coral Castle--The Stars, Moon and Planets

Ed Leedskalnin, the architect, designer, engineer and builder of the Coral Castle was also an astronomer of sorts. He was fascinated with the moon and stars and planets so much so that he has a wall dedicated to the crescent moon and two of the planets.

On one part of the North Wall Ed has carved and mounted a crescent moon. Actually there are two crescents but the smaller of the two was described as another planet, something I have not been able to find in researching it. The two planets to the left of the large crescent moon are Saturn (easily recognized by its ring) and Mars.

The telescope sits next to the swimming pool
(fountain added in later years)

While those structures are impressive even more so is what is called the Polaris Telescope. It stands twenty-five feet high and weighs twenty tons. The hole at the top is fitted with metal crosshairs as if you were sighting through a rifle. Each quadrant represents a season of the year. Now the amazing thing is in the rock near the base.

Ed put a hole in another rock at the base that is lined up with the hole in the telescope when you look through it. What you will always see at night in the clear Florida sky through the telescope is the North Star. The star will be positioned in one of the quadrants that represents the season of the year and will move within the circle of the telescope as the year progresses. The North Star, the never wavering directional star, is always in the sight of the telescope.

Unfortunately the crosshairs didn't show 
in my picture.

Because of his interest in the planets and stars and the symbols of them he has included in his designs (excepting the ones that seem to represent the Masons), those who theorize an alien influence feel justified in their suspicions--even suggesting that perhaps Ed was an alien himself.

Whatever the case, his other amazing "gadget" is a peculiar sundial. The squiggly lines not only represent the time but also indicate the months or at least seasons of the year. The time indicated in the picture by the pointed shadow was precisely the time it was when I took it. As the shadow moves up and down, the other little indicator, the squarish one, indicates the time of year. 

Next: The place where Ed actually lived.