American Exceptionalism - Castles

There are allot of castle looking structures in the nation. Most were built by the ultra rich to stoke their ego or by entertainment establishments. But this post will be dealing with special, unique ones. They are examples of the power of the American individual and what is or at least once was possible in America.

First is the amazing structure known as Corral Castle.

I am still amazed by the achievement of Edward Leedskalnin. An immigrant from Latvia he built this structure as a memento to the woman who had refused him but whom he still loved. Ed was a thin 5′ 100lb man. Yet built this structure out of coral blocks (over 1,100 tons worth!) he carved himself, blocks weighing hundreds of pounds, from a quarry 10 miles away that he moved and assembled by himself, mostly at night with only lantern light, using only hand tools and no heavy equipment! Some would ask him how he did it and he’d simply reply that he “understood the laws of weight and leverage well“. Did I mention that he did all this after having suffered from tuberculosis?

This man, with only a 4th grade education, also built himself an ac generator out of scrap and a pressure cooker from the differential of an old car. The “gate” of the castle is a 9 ton block of stone so perfectly balanced that it can be opened by the push of a child’s finger. The gate also sealed to within a quarter inch on either side when shut. When the gate stopped working in 1986 a six man team of engineers and a 50 ton crane were used to disassemble it. They found that Ed had perfectly balanced the stone on a single truck bearing. Furthermore the shaft running through the eight foot tall block had been drilled (again, using only hand tools) with such precision that it could not be duplicated without laser controlled high speed drilling equipment.

Edward Leedskalnin performed engineering feats unexplainable by modern science and construction work unequaled since the pyramids and he did it by himself! This is a man who should be taught about in schools but whom I ran across on the web completely by accident.

See Ed’s amazing accomplishment and read more about him at www.coralcastle.com

Second we have Bishop Castle.

Bishop Castle is a work still under construction today. For the past 30 years Jim Bishop has been building his castle on a mountainside near Beulah, Co. When asked why he does it the answer comes “I always wanted a castle. Every man wants a castle.” He like Ed has done and insists upon doing this by himself. Unfortunately the force that quashes much inspiration and possible achievement and the reason I said “or at least used to be” in the title tried to kill Jim’s creation. That force of course is the Federal Government. Jim uses stones that he’s gathered from the National Forest surrounding his property. The feds wanted to try and charge him for those rocks. Luckily though Jim won out on that one, though the beast is not so easily defeated. Local officials still attack his work as “built illegally” and “unsafe”. The little communists in government won’t be happy until they tear down this glaring example of freedom and individual greatness.

Jim wants to complete the castle before he dies. Plans include a moat and a drawbridge, a roller coaster mounted on the castle’s outer wall, a balcony big enough to hold an orchestra, and a second castle for Phoebe, his wife. It turns out Mr. Bishops is no fan of government and regularly rants against them while building. A man after my own heart. He has a donation box but admission to his castle is FREE! He’s even had it written into legal documents that it is to remain free so long as it exists too! This comes from Jim’s belief that America is a free country made up of free men and his work is a testament to that.

(A sign made because of another force that crushes inspiration and greatness these days, lawyers.)

You can find a really great article on his castle here and allot of pictures here.

The power of men like Ed and Jim are an inspiration to the world. Such is the greatness that was once America and if we follow the tenets of Conservatism can be again.