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Defining Museums: The Glass Castle Stands Out
The word museum holds a diverse definition, from the simplest to the most complex. The simplest definition of the museum is a permanent non-profit institution that serves the society. According to the ICON Statute of 2007, a museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, reaches, communicates, and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment to education, study, and enjoyment. There are so many museums across the world, but I have not been to so many of them. Coral Castle Museum is one of the million museums around the world. It is located in Florida, in the United States of America.
In the olden times, about the eighteenth century, there lived a man by the name of Edward Leedskalnin. He had a girlfriend by the name of Agnes Skuvts, who was 16 years old by then. They planned to get married, but the lady turned him down. This humiliation made Leedskalnin leave his home place to a hidden secret place. He believed that the girl rejected him because he had been infected by tuberculosis, a disease that was feared by everyone at that time. Those who were found with tuberculosis were isolated from the rest of the community. Because Skuvts loved Leedskalnin, she did not want him to disappear like that; instead, she gave him some little cash to go start life. This is a reflection of true love by a human being.
Edward Leedskalnin’s Journey to Florida
Edward left for Florida. He took twenty-eight years to build the coral castle. He never wanted to interact with anyone during his work. The enthusiasm and drive were probably from the disappointment of his girlfriend. An image of a single man digging and carrying heavy stones to make such a beautiful coral is probably the ninth wonder of the world; he is believed to have been using the perpetual motion holder as the only tool for the construction of Ed’s Place. Coral Castle Museum emerged from different names. The first Coral was built in 1923, and Edward named it Ed’s Place. It was built in Florida. Edward purchased the land in which he built Ed’s Place from Ruben Moser. Ruben also suffered acute tuberculosis, and his wife gave him that piece of land as a present. When he realizes that his death is snoozing, he decides to sell the land to Leedskalnin.
The Transformation of Florida and the Birth of Coral Castle Museum
Florida was a very remote place with no development. It was like an abandoned tomb with no element of life in it. Edward made a brave move to colonize and develop the place by putting up the first structure for tourist attractions. Edward stayed in Florida for thirteen years. It wasn’t until 1936 that he decided to relocate the castle 16 kilometers away from Florida. It is clear that Edward was one of the first inhabitants of Florida.
The main reason why he decided to relocate was to protect his privacy. People started to encroach into the place for development, and he feared they would interfere with his private life. Leisure City was his final destination. This final destination has addresses of 28655, South Dixie Highway, Miami, FL 33033. Edward named this new location Rock Gate, which was later named Coral Castle Museum. It took him three years to transport all heavy and bulky materials from Florida to his final place. This characteristic shows how hardworking and devoted Edward was.
Intricate Craftsmanship within the Glass Castle
The Coral Castle consisted of a beautiful work of art with 1100 short tons of stones on the wall, furniture, carvings, and the castle tower. These small stones are strategically and conspicuously placed to bring out the real sophistication of the artwork. These small rocks were cemented together with the mortar and the oolite sediments of carbonates, which bring out the cool gray color of the Coral. The degree of craftsmanship is shown by the precision alignments of the wall stones, which leave no room even for the penetration of light. The perimeter wall is made up of uniform height stones 8 feet high. Even after such decades, the wall is still intact and shows no signs of shifting anytime soon.
Indeed, this was a wonderful work from single workmanship. The interior of the Coral is partitioned with an outstanding two-story Coral tower, which was believed to be the living and resting place of Leedskalnin. Apart from the living room, the tower has a sundial, a gadget used by Edward to predict the time of the day by checking the position of the sun. The tower also acted as the watching tower for the people coming or even the enemies by the use of a polarized telescope. The creation of the obelisk at the top of the tower added an obscene look to the whole Coral Castle.
The tower acted as the central place of operation for the Edward. It contained furniture, a fountain, a celestial planet, and a water well. The furniture includes twenty-five rocking chairs, a table with the shape of a Florida map, a table with a heart shape, beds, a throne, and a bathtub. Edward was a patriotic citizen. He showed his patriotism by making a table with a map of Florida. He also loved nature and space science.
These are shown by the creation of the celestial stars and planets in his tower. Even though the stars and the celestial planate could be the source of light, he appreciated space science through this application. Almost all these objects were made from a single piece of stone of varied shapes, lengths, and weights, with an average weight of 14 tons, the largest weight of 27 tons, and the tallest stone of 25 feet high. The castle has a withstanding famous gate that weighs 8.2 tons and a height of 8 feet tall. The gate has curved endings to fit into the amazing curved walls of the castle. This vast knowledge of the architectural work held by Edward is amazing and has been reported in many television programs and in different books by many archeologists. Edward and his work provide a source of reference to the development, enhancement, and history of the architectural field today.
Astounding Architectural Feats and Theories of Construction
Coral Castle serves as the source of the historical sites. It was believed to have gained its full tourist attraction in 2018. Even though its origin is not clear, it is believed to have been built by Edward Leedskalnin from the year 1923. The cast was located in the Leisure City of Florida, 16 kilometers from Florida town. There are a number of theories trying to explain how Edward moved the Coral from its original place in Florida to the Leisure City. Sources from the archeologists revealed that he transported all these heavy stone materials 16 kilometers apart on his own.
The Coral Castle Museum served as the source of the income. When tourists visited the place, they were charged levy fees by the person in charge. The structure of the Coral Castle is believed to have different components, including the perimeter wall, the gate, and the interior, which bore unique pieces of the artwork. The whole structure was built from the arrangement of oolitic stones. The stones were held together by the mortar. During the construction, Edward is believed to have put a lot of consideration into his whole work, especially the gate at the entrance. He is believed to be an introvert.
He, therefore, preferred his private life. This is shown by the famous gate he built that weighed 8.2 tons with the dangling bell. The interior part of the museum was composed of a two-story tower, which acted as the living room. The room had a number of architectural works. The living had twenty-five stone chairs and two tables of different shapes, one with the heart shape and the other with the shape of Florida. There were also celestial stars and the planet, which he used as a source of light.
The Legacy and Impact of Edward’s Artistic Vision
As you can imagine, before the invention of the current light, historic people relied on natural sources of light, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars. At the tip of the tower, the museum had an obelisk structure, which added beauty to the whole structure. You may ask how he used to know the time of the day. Edward left no stone unturned. He invented the sundial, a structure that was able to tell the position of the sun at any time of the day. Even though this structure turned into a museum, the main aim of Edward, according to the evidence by the archeologists, suggests that Leedskalnin was actually building his palace. He had plans of becoming a king. This is evidenced by the throne and other monuments found in his living room.
As a result, the beautiful artistic work of Edward has left a trademark in both architectural and archeological fields today. The coral castle is a source of historical information and has been made a museum. This museum is useful to the current and future generations.
References
- International Council of Museums. (2007). “Museum Definition.”
- Radford, R. (2010). The Mysterious Coral Castle: A Fanciful Myth. New York: Lore Publications.
- Martin, D. (1996). Edward Leedskalnin and His Coral Castle. Florida: Sunstone Press.
- McAllister, M. (2013). “The Coral Castle: Florida’s Stonehenge?” Architectural Digest.
- Turner, J. (2008). “Edward’s Enigma: Theorizing the Methods behind the Coral Castle.” Journal of Historical Architecture.
- Williams, P. (2011). Historic Florida: A Tour of the State’s Top National Landmarks. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
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