The Shiny Solomon’s Castle
How would a contemporary fairytale castle look like? Would it be built on a swamp land and surrounded by alligators or maybe even be brighter than the Sun. Howard Solomon has built with his own two hands a magnificent castle and it took him 16 year to do so. He was tricked into buying a swamp land and didn’t have enough high ground to build a horizontal building on it so it got him thinking what he can do with it. So Solomon decided to pick a unique style and started building the castle in 1972.
The façade of the castle is built by from discarded aluminum printing plates making it impossible to photograph the exterior of the castle. It covers 12,000 square feet and is three stories high. The address of this lovely caste is 4533 Solomon Rd, Ona, Florida. The castle is surrounded by a swamp crammed with real alligators. Not only that he is a builder but he is a famous sculptor and this castle was a very good place to exhibit his works, at least the ones that didn’t sell.
His proud and joy are his the stained glass windows, over 80 of them. Each took him four days to make.
The interior of this castle of humor and inspiration is in no was less appealing than its outside. He uses discarded materials and all kinds of junk and shapes them into his own masterpieces. The knight in shiny armor is at your disposal 24/7.
This castle is also a family house; his parents also live in this fairytale castle. When Howard was 17 he ripped the back wall off their new suburban home while his parents were at work and began adding on porch. He found that he really enjoyed building things on a larger scale. But that is not all aside from the castle he built a boat nearby that has been transformed into a restaurant for the oncoming tourists.
This incredible place in the Florida’s sun will make a great filed trip for those in seek for adventure and excitement. You can enjoy the lovely gardens with Solomon’s marvelous sculptures and a home cooked meal in the boat restaurant. According to Howard it’s about size as Santa Maria. If you decide to stay longer you can rent a guestroom and feel like a true member of a royal family.
What you should know is that the castle is closed on Mondays and during summer so Howard Solomon can dedicate himself to making more interesting sculptures.
