Coral, Coquina, and Oolite—The Castles Disney Didn’t Build

The winter playground for America’s Industrial blue blood, Florida boasts many grand estates that are open to the public. Perhaps best known for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle in Orlando, Universal Studio’s Hogwart's Castle, and Ripley’s Moorish style Warden Castle in St. Augustine, the state lays claim to several less publicized castles. Built in the Gilded Age by the country’s nouveau riche who were inspired to build replicas of castles that had been erected by the very monarchies our founders sought refuge and independence from, many of these structures are recognized National Landmarks.

Miami’s Vizcaya Museum and Gardens  was built  from local coral stone by agricultural industrialist James Deering on 180 acres along the Biscayne Bay. What was then the Deering’s winter home is now a museum on ten acres exhibiting his international art collection spanning 2,000 years and exotic orchid collection. 

Modeled after historic Italian manor homes, Vizcaya was intended to look old from the onset and was furnished with antiques combining Italian and French Renaissance design elements. Although it was designed and built as an open-air floor plan exposed to both the sounds and scents of the surrounding natural environment and wildlife, the humid weather and recurring hurricanes have required the enclosure of the courtyard.

Modeled after historic Italian manor homes, Vizcaya was intended to look old from the onset and was furnished with antiques combining Italian and French Renaissance design elements. Although it was designed and built as an open-air floor plan exposed to both the sounds and scents of the surrounding natural environment and wildlife, the humid weather and recurring hurricanes have required the enclosure of the courtyard.

The museum is open daily except for Tuesdays, Christmas and Thanksgiving. Guided tours are available for $15 /adults under 62 years of age, seniors/$10, and $6/ children between 6-12 years. Self guided audio, moonlight garden, and bilingual tours are also available. Additionally, the 1917 Welte Philharmonic Pipe Organ is played weekdays from 4 to 4:30 p.m. Call (305) 250-9133 for more information.

Built in 1883 as a winter residence by Bostonian hardware mogul and justice fanatic Frank Smith, Villa Zorayda Castle spawned the Spanish-Moorish revival architecture for which St. Augustine is renowned. Inspired by the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Smith replicated Moorish architecture in his poured concrete structures that used crushed coquina, (the locally available limestone and shell conglomerate), as aggregate. He later constructed the five-story Casa Monica Hotel complete with turrets, parapets, cornices and battlements using the same method, (teaching the tradesmen working on the U.S. Landmark Ponce de León Hotel—now part of Flagler College-- to do the same). 

Situated in the historic district of the city, the museum is listed on the National Registry for Historic Places. Having under gone extensive restoration in recent years, it is a publicly accessible museum open Monday through Saturday 10 am to 5 p.m., Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. excluding major holidays. Guided tour tickets can be purchased for $14 per adult and $6 per child between the ages of eight and thirteen. Those younger than seven enter free of charge. Self guided audio tours are also available. In conjunction with St. Augustine's Nights of Lights Celebration, candlelight tours are conducted around the holidays.

Immortalized by Billy Idol’s“Sweet Sixteen”, eccentric Edward Leedskalnin spent 28 years making a monument to his lost love (who when lost was 16).  By lantern at night, the private man carved massive stones into a castle located in Homestead, 40 minutes south of Miami. Thus, how he cut, and moved, 1,100 short tons of oolite stone using only hand tools--how he erected the 8’ x 4’ x 3 ‘wall surrounding Coral Castle that alone weighs more than 58 tons-- remains a mystery. The castle is comprised of stones that range between 8’ and 25’ high and weigh up to 30 short tons. No mortar was used to hold the stones in place, yet decades of fully fledged category five hurricanes have not managed to shift a single stone out of place.  The man stood all of five feet.

When asked, Leedskalnin made vague reference to magnets and to having used a "perpetual motion holder." Fitting response from a man who carved an accurate sundial, a Polaris telescope, and an obelisk in the Tower that served as his private quarters. Also fitting that this son of a stonemason would have followed modern science. The October 1920 issue of Popular Science magazine was dedicated to concepts of perpetual motion.  Leedskalnin began constructing the castle three years later.

Now included in the National Register of Historic Places, Coral Castle Museum is open Sunday through Thursday from 8 am to 6 pm, Friday & Saturday from 8 am – 8 pm. Psychic Saturdays occur the first Saturday of the month. Adults are admitted for a fee of $15; Seniors/$12, and Children 7-12 yrs./$7.

In isolated Ono, 4 hours northwest from Miami, and an hour and a half south west of Tampa, is the gleaming metal clad Solomon's Castle made by internationally recognized sculptor Howard Solomon from discarded newspaper printing plates.  Situated along Cypress and Willow lined Horse Creek, the castle also operates as a B&B where rooms are $99/night. The Boat in The Moat restaurant occupies a 60’ 16th century Spanish galleon replica which sits in the moat. A drawbridge connects the castle with nature trails through Spanish moss draped oak and Palmetto Palm groves.

Daily tours are conducted from 11:00 am. to 4:00 pm.  Adults/$10.00; children under 12 are free.  The castle, inn and restaurant are closed Mondays and for the entire months of July, August and September. Note: Credit cards are NOT accepted.