Louisville  

 Sundial: 1043
State/Province:  Kentucky Country:  USA
Dial Type:  Horizontal Dial Condition:  Excellent
  Latitude and Longitude: 38° 14.292’ N  85° 41.167’ W
Location:
  • Gardencourt at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
    1044 Alta Vista Rd. Louisville, KY 40205

    The dial is near building No. 3 on the campus map (see attachment).
 
Description:
  • This elegant brass horizontal dial was custom made for this site, as evidenced by the word GARDENCOURT and the site’s latitude 38° 15’ cast into the plate at the bottom. The dial is 13.75 inches in diameter, with a design of a series of concentric rings. The innermost ring has 17 lines radiating out from the foot of the gnomon toward the Roman numerals in the third circle. Each of these lines is connected by a graceful curve at its end to the adjacent line, creating a chestnut leaf motif in the inner circle. The next circle is a chapter ring of Roman hours marked from IV to VIII, embellished at the bottom with a stylized oak-leaf. A thin decorative band surrounds that ring. The outermost band contains the inscription and the name of the estate. The gnomon is a simple wedge, cut at the correct angle for the site. Unfortunately it is bent slight off true north.

    The dial sits on an ornamental stone pillar nearly 40 inches tall, supported by three square platforms of increasing area and height, totaling 18 inches in height altogether.
 
General Information:Inscription:
  • Owner: Anderson Family
  • MY*FACE*TELLS*THE*SUNNY*HOURS
    WHAT*CAN*YOU*SAY*OF*YOURS

    In Memory of Olof Anderson, Jr.
    Given by his family

  • Designer: unknown
  • Builder: unknown
  • Construction Date: unknown
 
References: Web Links:
  • The dial is located amid Gardencourt’s formal rose gardens, colonnade, pool, and arbors that were created by the son and stepson of Fredrick Law Olmsted, who designed Louisville’s park system as well as Central Park in Manhattan. The historic house and 14-acre grounds were built in 1906 for the three daughters of Louisville financier G. W. Norton II. The building was given to the University of Louisville School of Music in 1947. Later it was used as the Urban

Attachments Available:

Last Revised: 2022-04-03 19:56