[photo courtesy of John Carmichael]
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The restored Sun City dial re-dedication ceremony held October 7th, 2011 was a huge success. The sundial originally schedule for demolition is proudly located at The Sundial Recreation Center located at 14801N. 103rd Avenue, Sun City, AZ 85351.
A large crowd of several hundred dial enthusiasts came to the grounds of the large dial at the Sundial Recreation Center at 8:30 in the morning to celebrate the restoration of the dial that months before was an endangered and condemned landmark.
The dial was the idea of John Meeker, Sun City developer. In the 1970’s “he saw the potential in building not just a place for old people to live, but to create a community where there was a love affair for what it stood for …. The sundial is the perfect example of what he stood for. He gave it more hours than there were in a day, it stood one foot taller than its twin in Carefree Arizona and it was all about living life large. Virtually everything he did was bigger and better than what folks expected…” said Dell Webb Museum president.
NASS member John Carmichael discussed the unique gnomon that has four shadow casting edges and NASS member Simon Wheaton-Smith talked about how the sundial told time and its features to the many people in attendance. Letters and email sent from NASS and international Sundial List members were instrumental in the Sun City board's decision to save the dial from demolition. NASS Roger Bailey’s letter to the Sun City administrators was specifically mentioned.