Email page Print page PHOTO GALLERY Ancient Spanish Monastery

It was disassembled and packed in more than 10,000 boxes, each marked with a number so workers could rebuild the monastery in California. But customs officials in New York worried the straw surrounding the 35,872 stones might carry hoof-and-mouth disease and burned the straw and crates. As Hearst's fortunes waned during the Great Depression, so did his interest in bringing the monastery to California. It wasn't until 1951, after Hearst's death, that two men from Florida came across the monastery, or at least the promise of it, in the boxes they purchased for $19,000. It cost $80,000 to ship it to Florida and another $1.5 million to re-erect the monastery. It turned out that while the stones had been placed in numbered boxes after the originals were burned, there was a mistake made in the numbering. It was a gigantic jigsaw puzzle that took 19 months to put together.

Unfortunately, the tourist attraction went bankrupt, and it wasn't until the Episcopal Diocese of South Florida took over in 1964 that the monastery regained its place as a spiritual refuge. Now it is a wonderful place to wed, worship or reflect on history.