SPANISH MONESTARY, North Miami Beach, South Florida, photo essay by Nancy Hopkins

Photograph of Ancient Spanish Monastery in its original location. Photograph of photograph hanging in the gift shop, North Miami Beach, South Florida.

Far away in Spain, a long time ago, stood an Ancient Monastery. It was home to cloistered monks and nuns of the Roman Catholic Church. An American bought the old stones, had it taken apart, with each stone numbered. It eventually ended up on the dock at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was rebuilt and can be visited and enjoyed. At the end of the extraordinary happening, one single stone remained unplaced.

Arial photograph of Ancient Spanish Monastery in its South Florida location. Photograph of photograph hanging in the gift shop, North Miami Beach, South Florida.

Photograph of Ancient Spanish Monastery still contained in 10,751 boxes. Photograph of photograph hanging in the gift shop, North Miami Beach, South Florida.

In 1952, 10.751 boxes containing the stones were brought to 20 acres in North MiamiBeach. Twenty-three men spent 90 days opening the boxes. Seven tons of nails were salvaged with the boxes were burned. The Spanish Monastery is standing again.

Sorting the more than 35,000 stones in the "greatest jigsaw puzzle in history". The stones were spread over the entire 20-acre site and some weighed more than 1.5 tons. Reassembling the 800 year old building took 19 months and cost $1,500,000. Photograph of Ancient Spanish Monastery being unpacked. Photograph of photograph hanging in the gift shop, North Miami Beach, South Florida.

Photograph of Ancient Spanish Monastery being unpacked. Photograph of photograph hanging in the gift shop, North Miami Beach, South Florida.

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