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.

Michigan

	Ann Arbor	Michigan	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 618
	A painted steel on building brick vertical dial with a 6 foot gnomon. Gnomon includes decoration of two children and a gear wheel. Hour markings are Roman numerals.
	Ann Arbor	Michigan	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 617
	A three foot wide brass and steel armillary of complex design with many features. Gift of Albina du Bolsrouvray. Markings are in French. This dial is reported stolen in mid-2011.
	Ann Arbor	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 616
	A 6 foot square weathering steel horizontal dial with a 3 foot high thick welded steel gnomon. Hour lines are welded steel strips. No hour numerals are present.
	Ann Arbor	Michigan	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 199
	A stone and bronze vertical dial approximately 10x6 feet just below the roof of the Mack School. Dial face includes Roman numerals showing Eastern Standard Time and a polar gnomon. Inscription appears below gnomon.
	Ann Arbor	Michigan	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 335
	Large equatorial dial, with gnomon in the shape of a treble clef sign. Approximately 4 foot across. Dedicated to founders of Sigma Alpha Iota international music fraternity for women. Dial sits atop a tapered cylinder 3 ft high.
	Bloomfield Hills	Michigan	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 770
	An equatorial dial of cast bronze. The heavily patinated dial has Roman hour numerals IIII through VIII and a cast bronze pointer marked, "DAYLIGHT SAVING." It has an unusual crescent shaped arm with notch at the upper end. The arm is rotated until sunlight passes through a hole in the upper arm and strikes an analemma with monthly dates on the lower inner curve of the crescent. Time is then read on a circular dial from an "hour hand" pointer extending from the base of the crescent. The dial sits atop a marble pedestal engraved: "The A.N. Goddard Sundial"
	Bloomfield Hills	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 837
	In the Cranbrook Gardens, where works of art topiary and American crafts are displayed, one can find a brass horizontal dial transformed into a beautiful sculpture of a swan with the tail serving as the style, and the hour lines are the feathers of the wings. A small circle with Arabic numbers delineates the hours.
	Brooklyn	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 311
	A well-rusted horizontal dial of iron or steel about 10 inches diameter on a stone and masonry pedestal. Dial face shows Arabic hour numerals but hour line angles may be wrong. Mounted atop a stone and masonry pedestal.
	Detroit	Michigan	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 88
	A 6 foot diameter wrought iron armillary with equatorial and polar rings. Hour numerals are missing. Cast zodiacal signs are present in fair condition on exterior of equatorial ring. Dial is on a decaying brick circular pedestal at the center of a concrete and brick base. Rings are heavily marked with graffiti. The dial sits atop a brick and mortar pedestal in poor condition.
	East Lansing	Michigan	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 384
	This garden analemmatic dial uses plants to mark time with plants selected to demonstrate bio-rhythms by their daily opening and closing at different times. Four-o'clocks are planted at the 4 block. Magic evening primroses 'Tina James' encircle the area. Flowers open in 15 seconds to the sunlight, quite a spectacular sight! Also planted here are: Evening Primroses, Portulaca 'Sundial', Coreopsis 'Sunray', Morning Glory, Thyme, Four-O'clock, and Moonvine. Children cast their shadow to tell the time. Step between the blocks of the current month, raise your right hand, and your shadow tells the time. The analemmatic dial is set up for daylight saving time.
	Frankenmuth	Michigan	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 896
	This is a mass produced armillary dial held at the latitude of Frankenmuth by the statute of a boy with raised arm. All this sits on a pedestal with a Greek motif. The meridian circle made of iron is about 2 feet in diameter. The equatorial band is about 3 inches wide with some corrosion present. Inside the equatorial there appears to be an aluminum interior band of Arabic numbers riveted to the equatorial. Hours and half hours are marked by dot bumps in the aluminum. There is an iron latitude ring for decoration. The bronze gnomon extends the meridian circle with both an arrow point and feathered tail.
	Frankenmuth	Michigan	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 194
	This monument sundial is an Erickson equatorial polar dial 6 feet in diameter made of light granite with a 3 inch steel rod as gnomon. Time is graduated by hour, half-hour, quarter hours and 5 minute marks over 24 hours. Noon is at the bottom, matching the 105 degree meridian. Designed to be read from the upper surface in Spring/Summer, from the under side in Fall/Winter. Unlike other Erickson dials, the Equation of Time plaque is presented in a circular arc on the ground.
	Frankenmuth	Michigan	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 897
	The dial is elegantly painted on the south wall declining 30 deg west. Dial shows daylight savings time using dark red Roman numerals on a golden ribbon banner. The gnomon is a simple rod held firmly to the wall by an ornate bracket. Above the dial is a large smiling sun surrounded by a sky blue band.
	Grand Haven	Michigan	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 601
	A bronze equatorial dial approximately 6 feet high with bowstring gnomon. Hour markings show Daylight Saving Time and are longitude corrected. Dial sits atop a brick plinth.
	Grand Rapids	Michigan	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 892
	The brightly colored analemmatic dial is approx 10.5 feet in diameter, surrounded by a ring of alternating red and white concrete with cardinal points. Time marks are set in a ring of black concrete, with large engraved hour numbers. Time is adjusted for daylight saving time.[Note that to tell time correctly, the time marks should be set on an ellipse.] The walkway for standing to cast your shadow has monthly names impressed into the concrete.
	Grand Rapids	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 287
	A cast iron statue of a small boy painted in gold and kneeling. With arms upright, he holds a plate on top of his head that held the original sundial face, surrounded by an inscription and ornamentation. The statue is bolted to a concrete pedestal. With the original sundial gnomon removed, a new oversized horizontal dial has been carelessly bolted onto the top plate. The gnomon and dial face imply it is a British reproduction, totally unsuited for the Michigan location. The dial face is ornate, with a compass rose in the center, surrounded by a chapter ring divided in 15 minute intervals. A second, outer chapter ring divides time into 5 minute intervals. Time is indicated with Roman numeral hour marks. Dial in good alignment, but illuminated by the sun only during early morning.
	Holt	Michigan	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 646
	A four foot high equatorial dial possibly of painted cast aluminum on a four foot high segmented granite pedestal. Hour ring displays Roman numerals for EST with five minute marks with longitude correction. Tiles of pedestal bear names and birth/death dates of those memorialized.
	Howell	Michigan	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 788
	A 16 by 20 foot, two-tone concrete analemmatic dial with 7 AM to 8 PM Arabic hour numerals on 12 inch round stamped concrete disks. Instructional and use information is shown on impressed lettering colored concrete plates.
	Kalamazoo	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 96
	Large circular bench ca 25' in diameter forms ring with hour markings. Aluminum or stainless steel gnomon. Relatively new.
	Kalamazoo	Michigan	USA	Compound Dial	Dial 733
	A combination horizontal, vertical, polar and equatorial dial 4 x 5 x 6 foot tall made of drilled aluminum plate with rod gnomon. The vertical plate shows the EOT graph and depiction of Earth showing polar tilt, celestial equator and Earth equator using drilled holes. The bottom plate below the equatorial face includes a compass rose that also shows the direction of sunrise and sunset at the solstices. All dial faces are marked using Arabic numerals with hour and 15 minute marks. The Kalamazoo Nature Center is open most days and charges an admission fee.
	Kalamazoo	Michigan	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 430
	A modernistic analemmatic dial. The ellipse is a raised stone wall with large Arabic numbers for each hour from 5am to 7 pm. The concrete patio in front of the wall contains the analemmatic line of months as an indicator of where to stand for casting the shadow.
	Lansing	Michigan	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 923
	This is a vertical, east-declining sundial, 22 ft 6 in by 15 ft 10 in. The dial is constructed of 6061 aluminum alloy pieces electrostatically painted and bolted together,then mounted on a concrete block wall. The position of the gnomon, hour, solstice, and equinoctial lines are corrected for longitude to show time zone solar time. Stenciled hour line numbers are changed to display DST or EST at appropriate times of the year. Visitors can determine the correct time by referring to an Equation of Time display. During the year, the triangular gnomon tip casts its shadow on the declination lines of summer and winter solstices and equinoxes. This is the largest known vertical sundial in Michigan, and one of the largest in the United States.
	Mackinac	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 183
	ca 16 in. square brass horizontal dial. Hours from 5am to 7pm in Roman numerals. Arrows radiate from the foot of the gnomon to each hour and three stars are located at the south end of the gnomon. The dial originally sat on a sightly tapered white concrete square pillar. When the dial was moved near the Jockey Club, the pedestal was redone in a square wood column painted white. A memorial plaque original on the south side of the pedestal is now on the east side. The dial was erected in memory of James R. Hayes, manager of The Grand Hotel from 1890 to 1900. The dial now sits in a small brick plaza.
	Saline	Michigan	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 631
	A north-facing vertical dial of wood approximately 30 inches square with steel gnomon. Gnomon support includes "M M" representing 2000 millennium. Dial face includes script "RJ" for owner's initials as well as additional "M M" symbology. Hour markings show Eastern Standard Summer Time. Dial is displayed during summer months only, during which time it can be seen from the street. Dial is on private property but can seen from a public street.
	Traverse City	Michigan	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 494
	This beautiful analemmatic dial was built as part of the American Society of Landscape Architects' 100 years/100 Parks project. A colored concrete pad was poured on the north/south axis and scored joints for each month. Stainless steel plates show the name of the months. On either side of the concrete pad are dry laid flagstones with creeping thyme in the joints. Hour markers are 12 inch diameter colored concrete bases with numbers cut from stainless steel. A stained glass sun plaque at the top of the month axis was made by a local artisan. Total dial size is about 10 x 20 feet.
	Warren	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 269
	Horizontal dial 16 ft in diameter with 6 ft gnomon. The Sundial is pyramid shaped, painted in four different shades of yellow and white. Two sighting tubes along slanted upper edge. Sundial sits in center of circular concrete base with brick facing.
	White Lake	Michigan	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 758
	A 20 x 10 foot concrete analemmatic dial with Arabic numeral hour markers for 3 AM to 9 PM. A single central date line is painted on the dial face. Segmented raised seating surrounds the dial; slump stone block pillars mark the cardinal directions. A raised plaque provides dial information and directions for use.
	Ypsilanti	Michigan	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 379
	A 10x15 foot vertical wall dial. On a stucco wall, the dial is tile with an aluminum gnomon. This dial atop Sherzer observatory is scheduled for repainting and renumbering. A new and larger brass gnomon is in the works as well. The newer campus landmark is visible from as far away as Wasahtenaw Avenue.
	Ypsilanti	Michigan	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 346
	The original horizontal dial and gnomon of 1909 was cast aluminum, very rare for a turn of the century dial, and have been assigned a safe place in history in the EMU archives. The new sundial face is weathered brass and copper. The sundial is being replaced on campus after a 30 year absence and recent rediscovery. The granite face of the sundial plinth under the metal base has directional lines indicating major cities in Michigan, Ohio, and around the United States. The original 1908 granite pedestal about 4 ft. high is still used.