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.

Minnesota

	Bloomington	Minnesota	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 447
	An Erickson Monument polar equatorial dial of light granite, approximately 5 feet (1.5m) in diameter and 6 inches (15cm) thick. The gnomon shaft is steel, 3 inches (7.5cm) in diameter, extending from the ground through the dial plate and outward another 18 inches (46cm). The base is a simple tier of raised concrete. 24 hours of radiating lines are inscribed on each side of the dial (summer and winter), ending with the hour in Arabic numbers. Time is graduated by half-hour and 5 minute marks. Numbers on the summer side follow the shadow clockwise. But during winter, looking at the reverse side, the hourly numbers accommodate a shadow that moves counterclockwise. Numbering of both summer and winter hours is overly aggressive, starting at 2am and extending to 10pm. Two equation of time graphs, each about 3 x 5 feet engraved in granite, are set at the north and south ends of the dial, providing corrections from Apr-Sep, and Oct-Mar. [The description to obtain watch time attributes Bloomington's longitude as 93:18 East instead of West. Further, it tells the user to subtract one hour for daylight savings time.] Nearly identical to the Port Arthur Dial, Texas, but without city names located in various time zones.
	Hastings	Minnesota	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 640
	A 5x3 meter analemmatic dial of natural limestone rocks with red flagstone and white limestone for month markers. Arabic hour numerals and month names are sandblasted into the stones. This dial was designed and built as an Eagle Scout project with an original request from the school science teacher, Mr. Rapatz. Roger Bailey of NASS provided technical guidance.
	Hibbing	Minnesota	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 375
	An 8 ft high equatorial sundial designed and built by David Aho. Made of welded stainless steel with a brass gnomon and brass equatorial arc dial. The 60 inch diameter equatorial dial is engraved.
	Houston	Minnesota	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 985
	A simple analemmatic dial laid out in a square concrete base. The walkway and hour surrounds are black with white lettering. The hours are Roman numerals run from VI (morning) to VIII (evening). The dial is adjusted for daylight saving time and longitude such that when the sun is on the meridian, the dial shows about 6m after 1pm.
	Mendota Heights	Minnesota	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1070
	This brass horizontal sundial was donated to the school in or around 1908 by the Visitation School class of 1908. It was moved from St. Paul MN to Mendota Heights, MN in 1966 when the school was relocated. In the spring of 2018 it was moved to a protected garden, but sits on the original 1908 pedestal 3 foot (1m) tall and 18 inches (46cm) square. The original dedication engraved into the pedestal is still plainly visible. The dial itself is approximately 12 inches ( 30 cm) in diameter with raised hour lines on the circumference and raised Roman numeral hour marks on the interior from 6am to 6pm. The dial is in excellent condition, but in 2017 a new brass gnomon was cast as a replacement for the missing simple triangular gnomon. The new 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide gnomon is in the shape of a crescent moon. Although aligned with the noon line, this gnomon will never cast a shadow. telling correct time. It is sad that this 114 year old sundial has been reduced to nothing more than an artistic sculpture.
	Shafer	Minnesota	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 1150
	This 9 ft (3m) tall horizontal dial, called "Time is of the Essence", is a fully functioning sundial and sculptural installation that casts shadows and reflected light onto hour lines. Built with three layers of mirrored stainless steel and laser-cut acrylic, the sculpture casts an almost 50-foot rainbow spectrum that moves slowly from west to east throughout the day to show the hourly passage of time. The outer stainless shell represents a neuron map reflecting the sun both inward and outward. The middle acrylic layer creates the spectrum of color while the innermost layer maps star constellations above in the site. As light passes through these lattices, the shadows create a "synaptic map of colors representing both neural and communal connection." And of course, it tells local solar time accurately.
	Silver Bay	Minnesota	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 227
	A horizontal dial on the ground, with an hour circle about 12 feet. The gnomon is of steel, about 4 foot high. The gnomon is oriented to magnetic north. It is not an accurate device. Three boulders surround the dial and cut off the shadow much of the time. Gravel hour circle has rocks to mark the hours, but the rocks can be moved and are strewn all about. More suggestive of a dial than a real dial.