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.

Illinois

	Chicago	Illinois	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 223
	Henry Moore Sundial Sculpture: 13 foot bronze equatorial dial built in 1980. Two bronze semicircles, one set inside and at right angles to the other, form the main elements. A slim rod runs from one end of the outer semicircle to the other end and its shadow on the inner semicircle below marks the time of day. EOT correction is provided.
	Chicago	Illinois	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 228
	Equatorial in bronze. 2 meters in diameter. Arabic hour numerals. Hour scale is subdivided into 5 minute intervals.
	Chicago	Illinois	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 271
	ca 8' dia. Stone ca 7' high Two curved C shaped forms placed at perpendicular angles.
	Collinsville	Illinois	USA	Sun Alignment	Dial 94
	At the Cahokia Mounds is a woodhenge discovered in the early 1960's during excavations and has been reconstructed. There are a series of wood posts in multiple circles that indicate various solar events such as the solstices, equinoxes, and what are thought to be special festival days related to the agricultural cycle of the region. Critical posts also align with the mounds of the site on certain dates. The outer of 3 circles of posts has a diameter of 410 feet with 48 equidistant posts. Each post is about 20 feet high. Equinox and solstice sunrise observations are held at the site on the Sunday morning closest to the event.
	DeLand	Illinois	USA	Pillar Dial	Dial 360
	Granite four-dialed pillar about 5 foot high, possibly dating from the mid 17th century. Purportedly found in 1650 in Tinturn, Monmouthshire, England, and consistent with the dial latitude of 52 N. Dial face is 18 x18 inches. Gnomons on both east and west sides are turned off its original declination. A gift from Robert H. Allerton. The dial is well-traveled, and was brought to the United States in 1890 by the John Wanamaker stores. The fascinating history of this dial can be found in NASS Compendium Vol. 6 No. 1, Dec., 1998.
	Elburn	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 547
	A 30-inch diameter cast bronze dial with natural patina after more than 30 years exposure. Replaces a "garden" dial donated by Class of 1967 but destroyed by vandals. Dial is located on campus of private school but available for viewing during daylight hours.
	Evanston	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 298
	This was once a horizontal sundial of unknown construction commissioned by the Works Progress Administration. The dial has been removed and only a 24x24 inch pedestal remains, now adorned by a flower pot.
	Graylake	Illinois	USA	Sun Alignment	Dial 521
	"Sun Pivot" is a set of vertical "gatestones" that allow the viewing of two major solar alignments: The summer sunrise stone is set about 33 degrees north of east while the equinox stone is set due east. The angular cuts in the gatestones allows the framing of the sunrise event above the stones, which are set about 200 feet away in a field of prairie grass.
	Hawthorn Woods	Illinois	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 876
	This equatorial dial sits on a 61-inch octagonal base that serves as a columbarium. The dial is reminiscent of Erickson Memorial sundials. This granite sundial is 38.5 inches in diameter and 6 inches thick. The 3-inch diameter gnomon is made of hollow galvanized steel pipe with a white powder coating. The engraving on the sundial was done using a rubber stencil and sandblasting with aluminum oxide abrasive. No water jet was used. The center core hole was cut using a diamond segmented coring machine, like a big drill press with an expensive hole saw.
	Highland Park	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 55
	A cast bronze horizontal dial with hour, half-hour and quarter-hour lines and Roman hour numerals for 5AM to 7PM. Dial face symbol depicts a winged hourglass.
	Highland Park	Illinois	USA	Polar Dial	Dial 377
	This cast iron polar dial is centered in a 7 foot diameter, echoing the form of a "train wheel", matching the theme of a small park situated between a historic train station on the ancient Green Bay Trail and a pioneer cemetery. The polar dial has raised hour lines on the cast iron plate. Designed by Stephen Luecking and built at St. Mary's Foundry.
	Highland Park	Illinois	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 400
	A nicely done analemmatic dial approximately 15 feet across with a grey granite zodiac walkway. The granite walkway has a central line, crossed with month marks for standing at the date of the year. An unusual feature of the dial is that the Equation of Time (EoT) correcting solar time to civil time is given at the left and right edges of the dial. On the first, tenth, and twentieth of each month the EoT is inscribed to the nearest minute. The walkway is surrounded by one row of dark brick then encompassed by a large plaza of light red brick. Embedded in the plaza are small square Roman numeral hour marks, arranged for summer viewing with 1pm set to north. The plaza is in a nicely landscape area of grass, bushes, perennials, three large pots of flowers and a bench..
	Lake Forest	Illinois	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 805
	A vertical south-facing dial, simple in design and visible to the shoppers in the U-shaped town square below. The dial face is plane white with Roman hour numbers fastened to a rod bent in an ellipse. No other delineation (such as solstice and equinox lines) is on the dial face. The gnomon is a simple rod held by an "S" shaped support.
	Lombard	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1075
	Classic black cast iron sundial 9.5 inches (24 cm) in diameter. Chapter ring with Roman numerals 5am - 7pm. Delineated with notches every fifteen minutes. Cast iron gnomon with bird interior, painted as brass. No noon gap for the half-inch (1.25 cm) thick gnomon. The original red oak wood pedestal was rebuilt in the summer of 2022. For added durability the pedestal was finished with several coats of Epifanes Yacht Enamel
	Pekin	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 233
	Two sundials. One is a horizontal sundial 6-ft. tall with a sloping 15-ft bright aluminum gnomon. The dial is called "Sundance". Adjacent is a gnomonic sundial with a 45-ft pole projecting its shadow onto the lawn in front of it. The ground level dial face consists of seven analemmas drawn in the grass field that surrounds the dial center. The analemmas are drawn for the hours 8 am to 3 pm, However, the noon analemma is larger and corresponds to the shadow of a disk atop the vertical pole.
	Peoria	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 607
	An 18 inch octagonal horizontal dial of cast bronze. The dial face includes hour lines with ten minute marks and Roman numerals. The dial is on an octagonal polished granite pedestal. The bronze gnomon is correctly set at 40? but appears to be more modern than the cast dial face. This is one of two "sister" dials ordered cast by Grant Hood; the second dial was placed at Bradley School of Horology but later disposed and now in private ownership in Lynchburg, Virginia.
	Quincy	Illinois	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 784
	A 10 foot x 18 foot analemmatic dial built of Keystone Blue granite from the quarry in Elberton, Georgia. Hour markers for 7 AM to 5 PM show Arabic numerals and identify the organizations donating to fund the dial. Each hour marker depicts the morphology of a leaf from a tree located in the nearby arboretum. The hour markers are 15 inches in diameter and 6 inches thick, weigh 102 pounds each and are placed flush with the soil to reduce potential for vandalism.
	Rock Island	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 632
	A horizontal dial approximately 30 inches diameter reportedly cast from an old brass (bronze, likely) cannon and weighing 175 pounds. Dial was weathered and damaged by vandals but restored in 1970 using black light to reveal the original engraved markings, which were re-engraved. Hours marked in Roman numerals with 2 minute marks. Noon gap mark aligns with North mark on base. The dial sits on a limestone base carved with crossed cannons and belt, date 1877.
	Rock Island	Illinois	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 974
	This analemmatic dial is 20-foot wide within a 30-foot circle, all made of colored concrete. The Arabic dial hour markers follow an ellipse from 6 am to 6 pm. The dial is decorated with a botanical and Rotary Club theme. Gears and the Rotary 4-way test are interspersed with flowers and leaves of the four seasons.
	Rockford	Illinois	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 401
	A large stainless steel armillary dial approximately 10 feet in diameter. The equator and sunrise/sunset meridian bands are about 6 inches wide, with other bands about 3 inches wide. The central gnomon is a stainless steel rod with an open shaped arrow point and tail. The hours on the equatorial ring are raised bronze roman numerals with 15-minute intervals marked by bronze dots. The time marks are set for daylight saving time, with sunset at VII. Marks continue to VIII
	Round Lake Beach	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 802
	This is an octagonal-shaped horizontal dial 240 mm (9.5 inches)across. The photo-etched plate has a central compass rose and delineated with a half hour circle and second circle dividing the time into quarter-hour increments. Roman numerals mark the hours from 6am to 6pm, with an extra hour mark to extend the dial's time-telling from 5am to 7pm. The dial is adjusted for the longitude of the site. Atop the dial face is a sturdy filigree gnomon approximately 5mm wide and 90mm (3.5 inches) high. South of the gnomon is a graphic Equation of Time.
	Urbana	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 289
	Horizontal dial 14 inches diameter, with 5 inch tall gnomon. Sits on stone pedestal 40 x 40 x 42 inches.
	Wheaton	Illinois	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 589
	Horizontal dial with 20 foot stainless steel gnomon. On the ground (dial face) are hour lines, analemma, date, and time before sunset. Built to commemorate DuPage County residents killed in military conflicts.