Grande Prairie  

 Sundial: 816
State/Province:  Alberta Country:  Canada
Dial Type:  Horizontal Dial Condition:  Excellent
  Latitude and Longitude: 55° 10.967' N  118° 49.050' W
Location:
  • Sundial is located in a large plaza in front of the Centre 2000 building at 11330 106th Street in the Bear Creek Valley, off of Highway 43
 
Description:
  • This monumental stainless steel sundial was built as part of the Grande Prairie Millennium Project. The beautiful gnomon is 12m (40-feet) tall and symbolizes the passage of the year 2000 into the 21st century. Behind the visible stainless steel cover of the sundial's gnomon is a one by two foot steel beam. Engineers adopted computer programming techniques to construct and align the 30 centimetre thick gnomon of the Centre 2000 sundial. Specific factors such as the city’s elevation, its latitude and correction longitude mark time with the region’s Mountain Standard and Daylight Savings Time.

    The sundial is paced in a large plaza surrounded with time-posts anchored in a slab of concrete. The plaza and gnomon are supported by pilings embedded to a depth of 6 metres (20 feet) in the ground. The plaza also contains ten time capsules that were created and sealed on the official opening day of Centre 2000. Five of the ten capsules incorporate the sundial, four are dedicated to community sponsorships and recognition, and one celebrates the youth of today and the stars of the future. The first capsule will be opened in the year 2005 recognizing our provinces 100th Anniversary. The remaining capsules will be opened on special anniversaries and predetermined dates, with the final Millennium capsule scheduled to open for the year 2050.
 
General Information:
  • Owner: City of Grande Prairie
  • Designer: Field Engineering & Associates, Ltd
  • Builder: Field Engineering & Associates, Ltd
  • Construction Date: 2000
 

Last Revised: 2016-1-21-14:00