Selected Sundials of North America

This is a selected listing of sundials in the North American Sundial Society Registry. Click on any dial thumbnail picture or city name to display the full dial description with additional information and images.

Wisconsin

	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 1000
	During the design of the bridge across the lagoon, the walkway was extended in the center on the north side, creating a niche for a 12 x 6 foot analemmatic dial. The dial is painted bright yellow with hours marked from 5am to 9pm (daylight saving time). The 1pm hour mark is set 8 1/2 minutes past local noon corresponding to its location just east of the Central Time Zone meridian. The walkway is marked with a central line using tic marks for each month and solstices. As of 2019, the paint is well worn. The dial has red circular Bailey marks for observing the direction of sunrise and sunset. Latitude and longitude are painted on the dial as well. At the north side of the dial on bridge railing is a sign explaining how to stand on the dial and use the equation of time chart to get civil time
	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 1066
	A large analemmatic ("human") sundial with bronze zodiac walkway and Arabic hour numbers. The dial also has a simple 4-point compass rose. The Horticulturalists had asked that an area of interest be created in the paved area in front of the school bus load zone. A durable and permanent solution was requested which resulted in the analemmatic dial with cast bronze numerals and a zodiac walkway cast in two pieces. Douglas Hunt, a scientist in Scotland determined the layout of the numeral locations and dates of the zodiac walkway. The site work was designed by County staff engineer Julie Bastin and Ruvin Bros construction completed the installation.
	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 841
	This large vertical south facing sundial is fabricated from aluminum. Eight slender hour lines delineate the time. At the top of the hour lines along the winter solstice are acrylic numbers on the circular hour plates showing time from 10am to 5pm. At the bottom of the hour lines along the summer solstice are additional acrylic numbers showing daylight saving time from 11am to 6pm. A short horizontal bar shows the equinox.
	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 381
	A direct south cast or wrought iron vertical dial on a brick building.
	Monegaw Springs	Missouri	USA	Sun Alignment	Dial 888
	This compass is carved in rock showing cardinal points. For some reason the N mark is backward and a W mark is upside down. A surrounding circle of 10 inches in diameter defines most of the compass. A smaller circle encompasses the letter N and a partial circle carved from the center is approximately 4 inches in diameter.
	Monterrey	Nuevo Leon	Mexico	Equatorial Dial	Dial 488
	This equatorial dial is just over 3 m in size, made of iron. Along the equatorial band are twelve Roman numerals to indicate apparent solar time and twelve Arabic numerals to indicate standard time. The outside of the equatorial band has zodiac constellations. There are also solstice and equinox discs at the gnomon. There is a plaque for the equation of time and an explanation of time corrections next to the sundial. The dial sits on a 1 m high stone base.
	Monticello	Virginia	USA	Globe or Hemispheric	Dial 470
	A replica of Jefferson's lost dial, which he recounted in 1817, "My dial captivates every body foreign as well as home-bred, as a handsome object & accurate measurer of time." Made according to Jefferson's design, the replica dial is a 10 1/2 inch painted wood sphere with horizontal lines drawn for the equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Longitudinal lines are drawn between the two tropics to indicate the hours of the day. A gnomon fixed to the poles swings around the globe until it casts the smallest meridian shadow. The original sphere was made of black locust wood but the replica is mahogany because it is "more durable, stable and easier to find." The base was originally a model of a capital, the top part of a column, that Latrobe had designed for the U.S. Capitol. It was unique, featuring ears of corn in motif. When Jefferson received the base from Latrove, "it looked bald for want of something to crown it" and so Jefferson designed a globe that "might be made to perform the functions of a dial."
	Montour Falls	New York	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 516
	A beautiful bronze dial approximately 12 inches long in the shape of a shield. Below the gnomon is a rising sun. On first look, the small dial plate appears backward, with AM and PM hours reversed. However, the inclination of the gnomon is about 48 degrees, suggesting that this pedestal mounted dial is really meant to be a south facing vertical dial! The dial sits atop a circular granite pedestal about 2.5 feet in diameter.
	Montville	Ohio	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 1034
	The zodiac walkway is made from 12 granite paving blocks engraved with abbreviated names of the months of the year. A nearby plaque instructs the observer to stand on the appropriate block to tell the time with one's own shadow. Time is indicated on inconspicuous bricks with black Arabic numerals. The hours are adjusted for longitude and set for Daylight Saving Times
	Montville	Ohio	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1035
	The sundial gnomon is a metal pole about 4 inches (10 cm) diameter and 15 feet (4.5 m) long. Arabic numerals are engrave into stone paving blocks set on the perimeter of a 30 foot (9 m) circular brick plaza. The hour numbers are offset for both site longitude and daylight saving time. The gnomon is held metal work with a large sunburst in the center.
	Morristown	New Jersey	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 332
	12 in diameter horizontal dial with very elaborate engraving on the bronze dial plate. In the center is a 32 point compass rose. Hour lines are corrected for gnomon width. The Equation of Time chart is engraved inside circle of hour lines with Roman numerals, which extend 4Am-8PM. At the south end of the gnomon is engraved 'R Glynne Fecit'. This appears to be a copy of dial by Richard Glynne, an 18th century dialist. Pedestal is a concrete spiral.
	Morristown	New Jersey	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 98
	12.75' dia. Granite with Bronze numerals 10" long. Commonly called the Washington Memorial Dial. An inscription on the octagonal base indicates this memorial is a tribute from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
	Morristown	New Jersey	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 819
	This analemmatic dial is approximately 20 feet wide by 12 feet long, constructed of reinforced, high strength cast-in-place concrete. Showing both Standard and Daylight Savings Time, the dial uses a dual ring of twenty-eight circular hour markers. Each hour marker is a 12 inch diameter precast paver flush with the surrounding landscaping with an aluminum Arabic hour numeral on top.
	Mount Laguna	California	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 170
	The odd bowl-shape of this equatorial dial designed and built by C.T. and W.M Thwaites shows a reversed engraved map of the world. A horizontal bar across the bowl has a small metal nib which points out the time of the day (top and bottom for standard and daylight times) and also indicates the spot on the world where the Sun is currently directly overhead. On full Moon nights, this dial has been used to effectively tell time and show the position of the Moon over the Earth as well.
	Mount Uniacke	Nova Scotia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 402
	A faithful fiberglass replica of an ornate bronze horizontal dial stands on the Uniacke Estate. The dial is about 40 cm diameter, with a sunburst in the center showing the 16 cardinal points and intricate markings typical of a 19th century dial. Surrounding the cardinal points is a ring engraved "Watch Faster, Watch Slower" with the equation of time. Roman numerals show the hours from V in the morning to VII at evening. This dial was made for Richard Uniacke in 1815, once the Attorney-General of Nova Scotia. The original dial may be in storage in Halifax. The inscribed latitude of 45:5N does not match the Uniacke Estate location. The wooden pedestal is in rather poor condition.
	Mountain View	California	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 1037
	Analemmatic sundial 16' x 10' (4.8m x 3m) painted as a full ellipse on the driveway to a house. Shows local solar time. Time corrections to obtain civil time (Equation of Time and longitude offset) are given for the first of each month on the Zodiac Walkway. Sunrise and Sunset sighting points (seasonal or "Bailey" points) are provided for a theoretical horizon, but are not useful as the dial site is within a valley. The perimeter of the ellipse is marked with great circle navigation directions for a selection of historical solar and celestial observatories, especially for North America, but all historically inhabited continents are represented. A QR code is provided for a link to a website with instructions for the dial, reference links on sundials (including NASS), and links for the selected observatories on the perimeter. The 2 degree slope of the driveway was not compensated for in the sundial layout, but the dial is unshaded from roughly 9:00 am to 5:00 pm in the summer.
	Mt. Vernon	Virginia	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 167
	A bronze octagonal horizontal dial about 12 inches on a side. Original dial is badly worn and virtually illegible; this original is now stored inside the museum. A 6 inch replica of the dial is located on a pedestal in the center of a circular lawn. This replica has an 8-pointed compass rose in the center and Roman numerals from 5 AM to 7 PM. The hour intervals are graduated into two-minute increments, with Arabic numerals 20-40-60 at appropriate places between the hour lines. Pictures of both the replica and the original dial are in the Image Archive.
	Muncie	Indiana	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 782
	A 9.5 inch wide bowstring equatorial dial built using the aluminum photo drum of a xerographic copier machine. The gnomon is stretched fishing line. Hour lines and numerals are marked by lead pencil and include 5-minute marks. The hour ring can be rotated to set for standard or daylight saving time and the elevation angle is adjustable. The dial is mounted on the deck railing of a swimming pool.
	Murdock	Nebraska	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1045
	This is a standard, but lovely, brass sundial 8 inches in diameter. Chapter ring has hour marks from VI to VI, with short hour lines extending inward from the ring. The gnomon has the traditional silhouette of a bird beneath the gnomon style. An hour glass centered in wings is below the foot of the gnomon. The Headstones of August and Mary Ruge have a marble pillar (12 x 12 x 24 inches) between them, and the dial is on the top of that pillar.
	Murrells Inlet	South Carolina	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 283
	This graceful 10 foot bronze sundial is a model of Paul Manship's dial "Time and Fates of Man" made for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The 1939 dial was made of plaster and stood 80 feet tall, claiming to be the biggest sundial in the world.
	Murrells Inlet	South Carolina	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 303
	This bronze armillary titled "Cycle of Life"is one of several by Paul Manship in the 20's. The equatorial band has Roman hour numbers on the inside and ornate signs of the zodiac on the outside. Also on the dial are the four elements of earth, fire, water, and air. In the center are three figures of a man, woman, and child symbolizing the cycle of life.
	Mystic	Connecticut	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 29
	This armillary dial with a sailing ship weather vane is on the cover photo of Albert Waugh's book "Sundials - Their Theory and Construction" (paperback edition). The dial sits atop a short stone platform outside of the Treworgy Planetarium, on the grounds of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT. To correct solar time to clock time, the dial has an Equation of Time table at the base. The armillary sphere underwent a restoration in the summer of 2015, removing corrosion, repainting the dial structure and equatorial band, and re-stencilling the longitude degree markings.
	Mystic	Connecticut	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 186
	Large slanted vertical dial on 8 ft. by 4 ft. wood rectangle mounted on a wall declining 80:50 east. Shows hours only till 11:30 AM, thus frequently called 'the morning dial'. Dial originally had no motto. Inscription was added later when dial was refurbished. Designed by Albert Waugh and fabricated by Edwin Pugsley.
	Mystic	Connecticut	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 187
	Vertical 7 ft. diameter dial. Dial painted on circular piece of wood with Arabic numerals 6AM-7PM on wall declining 9:10 west. Mounted below peak of building. Smiling sun face at point where gnomon strikes dial plate. Designed by Albert Waugh and built by Edwin Pugsley.
	Nanaimo	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 991
	This is a beautiful but standard mass-produced dial, with chapter rings for Roman numerals, hour lines, half and quarter hour lines. In the center is the sun surrounded by a compass rose, The dial is brass and sits on a tapered square pillar of cut stone. The gnomon is a solid, unadorned shape. Pictorial evidence from the Internet suggests that the dial has been vandalized and repaired more than once.
	Nantucket	Massachusetts	USA	Compound Dial	Dial 513
	A combination of horizontal dial and gnomonic projection dial. The dial is about 2 x 3 feet made of DuPont Corian sitting upon a simple wood pedestal. A small horizontal dial about 8 inches in diameter with a triangular brass gnomon tells Daylight Saving Time using Roman numerals. Then a larger gnomonic dial is inscribed on the remaining surface, telling time from the shadow of the tip of the triangular gnomon. The gnomonic dial has hourly analemmas,telling time using Arabic numbers in Standard Time. Both dial lines are offset for the longitude of 70 degrees west. The gnomonic dial has declination lines for each month. A small analemma on the meridian has the letters of the months, indicating how to read the hourly analemmas depending upon the date. The dial is built to be read from the north, so the user's shadow does not interfere.
	Napanee	Ontario	Canada	Armillary Sphere	Dial 171
	4 ft Steel Sphere. Gnomon frame and dial frame made of 6 in. x 4 ft. steel wagon tires. Gnomon is 6 in. diameter steel rod. Mounted on base using standard pipe fittings. Dial sits atop a 2.5 inch diameter pipe.
	Naples	Florida	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 1104
	A whimsical equatorial dial set on a pole. The solid dial face has a drawing of canoeists opposite an alligator with its mouth open and.above them is a smiling sun wearing sunglasses. Time on the summer side is from 6:30am to 7:30pm while on the winter side, time is delineated from 7am to 7pm.(but still using daylight saving time). Both sides have mean solar time adjusted for longitude, about 24 minutes..
	Nashotah	Wisconsin	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 845
	In a quite, shaded corner of the Nashotah House Theological Seminary is a copper alloy horizontal dial. The dial plate is a 10 inch square, 3/32 inches thick. The dial is engraved with several concentric circles with with large Roman hour marks on an outer ring from 5am to 7pm. Time is delineated in 5 minute increments on the outer circle, but includes an inner circle delineated in 15 minute increments. In the center of the dial is an 8-point compass rose with engraved directions. The quarter inch thick brass gnomon is a simple raised bar acting as style with an "S" shaped support.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 766
	A 16 x 12 foot analemmatic dial placed in the Experience Center of the 200 acre Ellington Agricultural Center. Dial is built of paver stones flush to the surroundings with painted inset circular hour marker paver stones and rectangular paver stones for the central date line. Directions for use are painted on the date line.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 853
	The equatorial dial made of aluminum operates on a unique principle. The equatorial time ring is allowed to rotate. Fixed to it on the upper ring section is a small hole that shines to the ring below. On the lower ring section is a plate with an engraved analemma, extending +/- 23.44 deg from the equator. The whole assembly is rotated until the sunlight spot falls on the analemma (with monthly marks to avoid ambiguity). One tells time using 5-minute time marks on the upper section of the equatorial ring read by one of two indicators either as central standard or daylight savings time.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Polyhedral Dial	Dial 1051
	The dial is overgrown with lichen and stained with dirt. Underneath this rather shabby exterior is a fine polyhedral sundial with ten hemispherical dials arranged in a dodecahedron. Each dial is 8 inches in diameter fitted with a quarter-inch thick bronze gnomon. The gnomons are set in a common direction for the North Celestial Pole of approximately 51 deg latitude. The design and latitude leading to the the conclusion it is a copy of an 18th century English sundial. The dial is similar to NASS #27 in Hartford, CT. which was originally located at The Abbey, Storrington, Sussex south of London. The Nashville dial sits on an ornate flower-motif pillar approximately 8 feet high. Sitting on top of the dial is a shield and rampart lion, similar to the Hartford-Storrington Abbey sundial.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1052
	A hexagonal shaped brass dial 9.5 inches (24cm) . Gnomon appears set for 34 deg and is bent to one side. The dial plate is marked in 15 minute intervals with Roman numeral hour marks. The dial is heavily corroded. Dial sets on cylindrical limestone pedestal with a hexagonal cornice top.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 1053
	A brass armillary sphere 3.5 feet (1.1m) in diameter with plates holding Roman numerals for each hour from 6am to 6pm. The outside of the equatorial band contains frieze symbols of the zodiac. The dial rests on a globe of stars. Limestone and cement plinth.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1057
	Bronze 14 inch (36cm) horizontal dial. Arabic numerals mark hours with half and quarter hour marks. A simple solid triangular gnomon, set to 35 deg. On the pedestal there is a hand with a pointing finger, showing the way to the grave site of James Robertson and Dr. Felix Robertson, his son.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1058
	Bronze horizontal dial, 14" (36 cm) diameter. Plain gnomon with hole in it, set to 37 deg. Hour lines with half and quarter hour marks. Arabic numbers mark the hours from 5Am to 7PM. Dial was originally erected in Centennial Park to commemorate one of Nashville's founders. Later moved to his grave site.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 1059
	30 inch (76cm) black iron armillary sphere. Roman numerals mark the hours. Gnomon is a classic rod and arrow motif. Sits on a brick pedestal.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 1069
	This armillary sphere is based on a Chinese design with an equatorial ring containing Arabic hour marks but the meridian ring exists only below a longitudinal ring set to the dial's latitude. The dial presents Tennessee's identity and is dedicated to the school children of Tennessee. 4 copper columns support the dial, honoring the Greek and Roman tradition of placing a sundial in the center of a garden. The capital and base are cast bronze and the foundation is Tennessee crab orchard limestone. Surrounding the base are 5 tomato plants, the State fruit. 3 are enameled red to represent the three stars in the State flag. Sitting on the base is the eastern box turtle, State reptile. Branches from a tulip poplar, the State tree, extend from the north end of the gnomon and a mockingbird, the State bird, sits in the branches. The branches are made of forged bronze and the leaves are copper, cut by hand, then repousséd or shaped by hammering on the reverse side, then enameled. The mockingbird is made of raised and repousséd copper with enamel for color. The legs are bronze for strength.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 425
	A 6 x 7 foot vertical dial declining 16.4 deg east of south. The dial of limestone is integral to the building with a near square face, engraved lines and a small triangular gnomon. Hour marks are from 6am to 4pm, labeled between long hour lines. Solar declination lines are shown as dotted lines for the zodiac, including solstices and equinox. This dial was on the 2022 NASS Conference dial tour of Nashville.
	Nassau Bay	Texas	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 714
	A cast concrete horizontal dial with a rugged steel water pipe gnomon. Dial face has hour and half hour marks with Roman hour numerals showing CDST and a compass rose with dial coordinates. A graph marked in the concrete shows EOT correction.
	Natchez	Mississippi	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 887
	In 1716 the French built a fort on the bluffs of Natchez and named it Rosalie in honor of the Countess of Pontchartrain. In 1820 Peter Little, who came to Natchez from Pennsylvania in 1798 at the age of 17, purchased a portion of that land on which to build his home. He decided to keep the name Rosalie in honor of the fort and its settlers. The mansion and land was purchased in 1938 by Mississippi State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution.
	Nelson	British Columbia	Canada	Armillary Sphere	Dial 584
	This is a lovely dial in a lovely setting. The armillary of wrought iron is intricately and carefully done and blends with the surrounding garden that uses wrought iron railings made with the same look to continue the theme of the sundial. The dial is a 4 foot wide by 6 foot tall armillary of mild steel and blown glass with punched Roman numerals of the hours on the equatorial ring. The ecliptic ring includes zodiacal symbols. Dial base has a 12 inch hemispherical time capsule to be opened October 14, 2015.
	Nelson	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 966
	The elegant bronze gnomon is 6 foot high with a modern interpretation of the zodiac sculptured into the lower half. The zodiac is represented by reliefs of Leo, Taurus, Pisces, Gemini, Virgo, and Sagittarius with his bow. The dial face is integrated into the plaza with a stainless steel chapter ring about 12 feet in diameter. The chapter ring has ornate grill work and Roman numerals to mark the hours. A small disk shows the Equation of Time correction in polar form with the months labelled along the circumference and EOT shown radially. The resulting graph looks somewhat like a kidney.
	New Albany	Indiana	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 704
	A 15 foot wide vertical dial declining 35 deg east of south on the brick face of a commercial building. Dial face has Roman numerals without hour lines.
	New Bedford	Massachusetts	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 163
	1820 Federal style building owned by the Univ. of Mass. at Dartmouth. Referred to as the Sundial building because of a vertical dial over the main entrance.
	New Berlin	Wisconsin	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 865
	This whimsical yet elegant equatorial dial is made from old farm implements. The materials are high carbon steel and cast iron parts. The 18-inch gear is a flywheel from an International Harvester farm tractor. The base is a harrow blade for tilling soil. The harrow blades ride on a square shaft and the blades are separated by spacers seen the base of the sundial. The meridian arcs are soil tillers that would ride on a drum behind the tractor. These pieces are very challenging to weld because they are dissimilar materials. Horseshoe nails mark the hours on the equatorial arc. No hour numbers are used, just the nails. The gnomon is an arrow rod.
	New Britain	Connecticut	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 111
	A 19 ft steel sculpture named 'Sheng'. Commissioned by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in 1987 and designed by Robert Adzema. Basically a combination East and West direct dial with a circular gnomon.
	New Harmony	Indiana	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 620
	A historic wood and iron vertical dial 34 inches wide x 42 inches high x 1-3/4 inches thick. This original Harmonist dial was made in 1821 by the Harmonie Society, a group of Lutheran separatists from Germany who settled in the US in the early 1800's. The original dial hung on a private house; when fire destroyed the house in 1844, the dial was rescued and placed on the south wall of Community House 2, located across the street from the destroyed house. A modern replica (similar at least) now is placed on the exterior wall and the original historic dial is on display inside and can be seen on a daily tour.
	New Haven	Connecticut	USA	Cylindrical Dial	Dial 664
	A nearly 50 foot tall vertical concave cylindrical projection dial of precast concrete lined with aluminum panels and with an aluminum band projection gnomon. The curvilinear interior surface is inscribed with vertical hour lines and horizontal solstice and equinox marks. The band gnomon features a 2.5 inch diameter hole that projects an image of the sun on the silver-colored interior surface against a shadow cast by the gnomon band itself.
	New Haven	Connecticut	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 30
	Vertical dial on Sterling Library. Rectangular stone with hour lines and Arabic numbers. Gnomon is a plain rod emanating from a sunburst. Stonework shows it to be built into the wall of the library.