Sundials of North America

This is a complete listing of sundials in the North American Sundial Society Registry. Click on any dial thumbnail picture or city name to display the full dial listing and images. To see sundials from a particular state or province, you may click on the list at right to see all registered sundials in that state, province or country (at bottom) displayed in city order.

You may also type into the NASS search field at upper right any search word such as "equatorial" to get a list of all articles mentioning equatorial dials and a list of all equatorial sundials in the registry. (Try other dial types: "vertical", "horizontal", etc).

	Farmington	Utah	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 783
	A 28 x 20 x 2 inch sandstone horizontal dial with a 1/2-inch thick, hand-tooled copper gnomon. Dial face has Arabic numerals and hour lines corrected for local longitude. Dial was hand carved with carbide chisels and maul but using techniques and natural stone used to create ancient Native American petroglyphs found in the southwest USA. Dial is mounted 2 inches above a sandstone base weighing 400 pounds by brass leveling pins; this mounting makes the dial appear to "float" above the stone base. A "Desert Varnish" finish has been applied to the dial face using a natural process that mimics what naturally happens to exposed sandstone over several thousands of years. The natural color of the stone is exposed by the carving process to create a color contrast as might be seen in a Native American petroglyph. Dial is located in the front yard of a private residence. Viewing can be arranged by contacting the owner by email at theoperativemason@gmail.com
	Muncie	Indiana	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 782
	A 9.5 inch wide bowstring equatorial dial built using the aluminum photo drum of a xerographic copier machine. The gnomon is stretched fishing line. Hour lines and numerals are marked by lead pencil and include 5-minute marks. The hour ring can be rotated to set for standard or daylight saving time and the elevation angle is adjustable. The dial is mounted on the deck railing of a swimming pool.
	Calgary	Alberta	Canada	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 781
	A school yard 6 by 4 meter analemmatic dial of pigmented concrete. The Sunclocks registered design has two hour ellipses, the outer one for standard time, the inner one for daylight saving time. The zodiac table is larger for the fall and winter periods so the design is really two sundials in one. Longitude correction is included. The plaque provides instructions in French and English and notes the dial marks the 50th anniversary of Ecole Banff Trail. The plaque instruction to stand on the current month is misleading; the user should straddle the dial centerline to avoid an offset error.
	Windsor	Ontario	Canada	Armillary Sphere	Dial 780
	A simple armillary dial about two feet in diameter with an equatorial hour ring. The dial is mounted atop a tall, black cylindrical pillar within a formal garden of Willistead Manor. The manor is open to the public on selected days.
	Windsor	Ontario	Canada	Noon Mark or Meridian Dial	Dial 779
	A 12 foot high noon mark dial consisting of two closely spaced triangular vertical plates, a protruding needle and pairs of summer and winter solstice "wings" that together project a shadow onto the surrounding concrete deck within a 40 foot diameter reflecting pool. When the sun totally illuminates the narrow space between the vertical plates, it is local noon and the shadow cast by the protruding needle points true north. On the summer solstice, the shadow cast by the smaller, upper solstice wings will be at its narrowest width. On the winter solstice, the shadow cast by the lower solstice wings will be at its narrowest width.
	Sterling	Virginia	USA	Gnomonic or Projection Dial	Dial 778
	A reflection dial using a mirror in an upper window to project a solar image spot onto the west facing vertical interior wall of a church. Copper medallions on the wall show the spot location at 10:30 AM throughout a year and depict the analemma curve.
	St. Louis	Missouri	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 777
	A cast aluminum equatorial dial 15 inches in diameter with a rotating, two-part, three-dimensional analemmic gnomon; this is a classic Schmoyer dial completed by Bill Gottesman. One gnomon half is used from summer solstice to winter solstice; time is shown by a beam of light passing through the gnomon slit to fall on the hour ring. The other gnomon half is used from winter solstice to summer solstice.
	St. Louis	Missouri	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 776
	A 10 inch wide, cylindrical-segment equatorial dial 8 inches high, fabricated from a section of large PVC pipe. The dial face is aluminum sheet bonded to the PVC pipe and marked by photochemical engraving with hour lines showing analemmas to correct for EOT; hour lines are corrected for longitude and show both standard and daylight saving Arabic hour numerals. Winter and summer solstices and equinoxes are marked. Time and date are read by the shadow of the intersection of the two gnomon rods. Instructions are included on the dial face and plaque.
	St. John's	Newfoundland	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 775
	A 10 inch diameter heavily cast bronze horizontal dial with bronze gnomon that was apparently replaced or remounted in the past. The dial face includes hour and half-hour lines and Roman hour numerals from 5 AM to 7 PM. The center of the dial face shows a simplified map of the world. The dial sits atop a stone pedestal with a two-part octagonal base. The base is inscribed with a dedication to the memory of Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring, K.C.M.G. (1858-1943), industrialist, born at St. John's, Newfoundland on August 17, 1858, son of John Bowring and Mary Rennie.
	Santa Clara	California	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 774
	A 5 foot 9 inch wide cast bronze ring equatorial dial on a low brick mortared pedestal. The full semicircular hour ring has hour, half-hour, fifteen minute and 5 minute marks, and Roman hour numerals. The dial is lightly patinated and has a central gnomon rod with arrowhead.
	Reston	Virginia	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 773
	An analemmatic dial with 8 foot semimajor axis painted on the asphalt playground of the Neil Armstrong Elementary School. Hour marks for 5 AM to 7 PM include longitude correction; Arabic hour numerals for both standard and daylight saving time are shown. The date line is decorated in bright colors with icons symbolic of holidays and seasonal weather. The dial was the Boy Scout Eagle Service Project of William T. Spriggs and was painted by local Boy Scouts and their fathers.
	Phoenix	Arizona	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 772
	A dual-vertical cube dial with two 12 inch square dial plates declining 45? south of east and south of west. The east face shows hour lines for 6 AM to 12 PM; the west face shows hour lines for 12 PM to 6 PM. Roman numerals mark three hour lines on each face.
	McDonald Observatory	Texas	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 771
	A monumental horizontal dial on a cast concrete base with a 5 foot high polished granite gnomon. Hour lines radiate from the gnomon root and hour markers with Arabic numerals are placed on a square about the gnomon. Instructions for reading the dial are engraved on the side of the gnomon.
	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"
	Croton-on-Hudson	New York	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 769
	A 13-1/2 foot tall monumental horizontal dial memorial to the victims and responders of the 9/11/2001 World Trade Center terrorist attack. The memorial sundial gnomon is created from an 11000-pound, 14-foot long twisted steel beam once part of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The gnomon is held at an angle of 41 deg 12 minutes by a 16-ton boulder with inset channel to cradle the twisted steel.
	Corregidora	Queretaro	Mexico	Gnomonic or Projection Dial	Dial 768
	A projection (or, "negative") dial using the south-facing wall and floor of the "Cosmic Room" of a "casa de campo" private cottage. The tile roof over this room contains several skylights with slits for projecting a beam of sunlight onto the wall and one skylight with a small hole to project a dot of sunlight onto the room floor.
	Carbonear	Newfoundland	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 767
	A 10 inch diameter horizontal bronze dial with engraved nomenclature. Hour numerals 4 AM to 6 PM are Roman; ten minute numerals are Arabic and two minute marks are shown. Minute numerals are engraved in sequence 60, 20, 40, 60. Face engravings include EOT dates, "WATCH FASTER" and "WATCH SLOWER" and a central compass rose.
	Nashville	Tennessee	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 766
	A 16 x 12 foot analemmatic dial placed in the Experience Center of the 200 acre Ellington Agricultural Center. Dial is built of paver stones flush to the surroundings with painted inset circular hour marker paver stones and rectangular paver stones for the central date line. Directions for use are painted on the date line.
	Annapolis	Maryland	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 765
	A bronze armillary dial with meridian, horizon and equatorial rings on a concrete pedestal. Dial is located in Government House residence and requires a tour of the property for access.
	Coalinga	California	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 764
	A 26 inch diameter hand-carved, lacquer-coated beige sandstone horizontal dial set flush in a massive cast concrete pedestal. Dial has a thick stone gnomon, hour, half-hour and quarter-hour lines with Arabic ST hour numerals corrected for longitude. Face is marked with symbols showing sunrise and sunset times on solstices and equinoxes and with location coordinates. Dial face includes a hand carved graphic of a Valley Oak tree, symbolic of the San Joaquin Valley dial location. The dial is embedded in a three foot cube cast concrete pedestal bearing a bas relief image of a horned toad, mascot of the Coalinga High School and the city centennial dates 1906 - 2006.
	Lake Oswego	Oregon	USA	Analemmatic Dial	Dial 763
	An analemmatic dial with 20 foot major axis, 14 foot minor axis with hour markers and date line made of sandblasted concrete paver stones. A platform stand on the west side holds instructions on using the dial. A preliminary version of this dial was included on the 2009 NASS Conference Sundial Tour.
	Carbonear	Newfoundland	Canada	Armillary Sphere	Dial 762
	A four foot diameter armillary dial built of 1.5 x 0.5 inch flat steel bar and 3/4 inch steel rod. A 1/2 inch steel rod gnomon casts the shadow on an aluminum equatorial ring, which includes hour and 5 minute marks. Dial includes horizon, equator, ecliptic, tropic, Arctic and Antarctic Circle rings. A nearby granite boulder holds a plaque for EOT correction, location and inscription. The dial is a gift to the town from Dr. L. A. Wells and was installed on his 87th birthday.
	Orosi Valley	Cartago	Costa Rica	Obelisk or Vertical Gnomon	Dial 761
	A 25 foot long point-in-space or nodus dial. The horizontal dial face is cuartilla (crushed stone). The 8 AM - 4 PM hour lines are red adoquines (bricks) and the noon hour line is lodged between gray adoquines. The dial equinox line is a row of gray adoquines. Solstices are identified by the curve formed by the tips of the hour lines. The gnomon atop a 1.8 m high vertical rod is a 21 cm diameter sphere, hand carved out of gabbro, a rock formed from molten magma. It is a replica of bolas de piedra (stone balls) created a thousand years ago by the local Diquis indigenous people and discovered in 1930.
	Wynndel	British Columbia	Canada	Cylindrical Dial	Dial 760
	A ring equatorial dial built inside a cross-sectioned propane LPG tank. The equatorial surface has an inset plaque that shows EOT corrected time and includes declination lines for date shown by the shadow of the nodus on the polar gnomon wire. Dial sits on a granite block pedestal that shows cardinal directions.
	White Rock	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 759
	A 9 x 12 inch stainless steel horizontal dial with 4 AM to 8 PM hour lines and Roman hour numerals for 6 AM and 6 PM. Dial is set on a 24 inch square capital atop a 30 inch high pedestal of concrete and local stones. This pedestal sits on a 50 inch square concrete base that was saved when the railway was moved in 1984
	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.
	Waterbury	Connecticut	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 757
	A 24 inch diameter armillary with meridian, horizon, equatorial, tropic, Arctic and Antarctic rings. Equatorial ring is engraved with Roman hour numerals. The dial is supported on a narrow 4 foot tall granite pedestal. The pedestal includes a plaque with an EOT graph and is inscribed to indicate the dial is the Class Gift of 2010.
	Victoria	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 756
	A 12 inch diameter cast bronze horizontal dial with hour lines, quarter-hour marks and Roman hour numerals. Dial face includes a central compass rose with cardinal directions; large characters inscribe RVYC and 1992. Dial sits atop a tapered mortared stone pedestal
	Victoria	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 755
	A 12 inch diameter cast bronze horizontal dial with hour lines, quarter-hour marks and Roman hour numerals. Dial face includes a central compass rose with cardinal directions. The dial sits atop a cast decorative concrete pedestal. The dial is correctly designed for the location and is one of at least seven such dials in the Victoria area.
	Victoria	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 754
	A 9 inch diameter cast bronze dial with hour and half-hour marks and Roman hour numerals. The dial face has a compass rose at the center with cardinal and ordinal directions. The casting is of poor quality and the gnomon, brazed in place, is bent and at the wrong angle. The sundial is a monument to the Point Hope Shipyard. Engraved on one side is the history of the shipyard, the oldest in British Columbia, renovated and reopened in 2007. The cast dial pedestal is marked, "This newel post was saved from the demolition of St. Mary's Hospital, Victoria.
	Victoria	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 753
	A 12 inch diameter cast bronze horizontal dial with hour lines, quarter-hour marks and Roman hour numerals. Dial face includes a central compass rose with cardinal directions. The dial sits atop a cast concrete pedestal sculptured with curves, fronds and cherubs. However the dial may be misaligned from true North. The gnomon angle appears close to the dial's latitude (measured at 49.2°).
	Victoria	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 752
	A bronze horizontal dial with hour lines, quarter-hour marks and Roman hour numerals. Dial face includes a central compass rose. The dial sits atop a carved cedar totem depicting an Orca killer whale. The totem is carved in the Coastal Salish tradition by Aubrey LaFortune, a member of the Cowichan Band of native Canadians.
	Stouffville	Ontario	Canada	Vertical Dial	Dial 751
	A 42 x 72 inch, 10 inch thick, 3300 pound black granite vertical dial on a 5 foot high steel tube pedestal. Gnomon is a 5/16-inch stainless steel shaft with a dowel-type nodus to mark solar declination. Dial shows EDST with longitude correction. Dial face includes hour and half-hour lines, and equinox and winter and summer declination lines. Dial center is the pivot of the compasses in the Masonic Square and Compass emblem, with oak leaves. Below the dial is a 12 x 72 inch oak plaque inscribed with dedication information and two brass plaques with dial information and EOT graph.
	Solvang	California	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 750
	A cast or wrought iron vertical dial about 3 foot square painted black, prominently mounted at the roof line of the Royal Copenhagen Inn. The dial face has hour lines, half-hour marks and Roman hour numerals. The dial in not quite gnomonically correct as the building declines a few degrees west of south and the gnomon appears to be at 45? rather than 34.5?. The dial is visible from Mission Road. An interesting wind vane is seen on the roof peak above the dial.
	Sidney	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 749
	A 10 inch diameter horizontal bronze dial with hour lines, quarter hour marks and Roman hour numerals. The dial face includes a central compass rose. The dial sits atop a fluted concrete pedestal. The dial is gnomonically correct, designed for latitude.
	Seattle	Washington	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 748
	A 35 foot diameter horizontal dial of concrete and stainless steel with an 8 foot gnomon. Hour marks and Arabic hour numerals are shown on the inner circle and outer ring. A meridian line has markers for solstices and equinoxes, for cardinal directions and magnetic bearings. The dial was constructed using material obtained from Boeing Surplus.
	Seattle	Washington	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 747
	A 20 inch diameter cast bronze horizontal dial atop a 30 inch high one-piece stone pedestal. The dial face has cast quarter-hour marks and Roman hour numerals. The dial, built in 1912, has been refurbished and relocated several times and has a new bronze gnomon. Prof. Woody Sullivan and Kurt Kiefer did the last restoration in 2002. Dial times are inaccurate 5-7 minutes.
	Seattle	Washington	USA	Cylindrical Dial	Dial 746
	A unique, 10 foot tall, 2 foot diameter (base) tapered cylinder dial similar to a traditional shepherd's dial except that the cylinder orientation is fixed and the gnomon is rotated about the dial axis by the user to align with the sun. Time is read from the vertical hour and date lines. The dial is fabricated from bronze plate and is hollow. Lines are formed by individually cut hour and date line segments welded on from inside the cylinder. A lever at hand height is moved to rotate the gnomon to face the sun, providing a vertical shadow. A slit in the gnomon tip provides a more accurate sun spot on the dial face. The cylinder is tapered top to bottom for aesthetics and to minimize the effect of solar altitude variation through the seasons.
	Seattle	Washington	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 745
	A 12 x 30 foot vertical dial on a brick wall that declines 0.5? west of south. The 5 foot stainless steel gnomon tip carries a sheet metal sculpture of an eagle, the school mascot. The hour lines are aluminum strips terminating in Arabic hour numerals. The dial face includes ceramic disks painted by school students and are placed so that the gnomon shadow falls on then on their birthday.
	Seattle	Washington	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 744
	A 10 x 18 foot vertical dial on a south-facing brick wall. The hour lines are stainless steel sheet and are formed to create shadow effects that change with the position of the sun. The stainless steel Arabic hour numerals are on disks that are held on the wall by magnets, allowing them to be placed for ST or DST. A stylized school emblem is placed at the base of the gnomon. A round, two-sided plaque in the wall below describes the use of the dial, designed by Mindy Cameron of Lehrman Cameron Studio.
	Saint John	New Brunswick	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 743
	A large horizontal dial whose cast metal gnomon is a sculpture commemorating the Canadian National Day of Mourning. The gnomon is supported by statues representing toiling laborers. The surrounding brick courtyard includes bricks marked with Roman hour numerals. The dial sculpture is identified as the Day of Mourning Monument and was dedicated on the Canadian National Day of Mourning, April 28, honoring those workers in Canada who have been killed, injured or disabled on the job.
	Pocatello	Idaho	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 742
	A south-facing vertical dial split into two sculptures separated by a walking path. The dial faces are vertical powder coated steel sculptures with cut hour lines. The gnomons are travertine limestone blocks with the top edges pointing to celestial north. The edges of the gnomon stones cast the shadow onto the vertical dial faces. One dial face shows the morning hours, the other shows the afternoon hours. The gnomon styles extend to both sides of each dial face allowing extended time and season use. This sculpture, "PASSAGE OF TIME," was commissioned by the City of Pocatello to represent Pocatello as the "Gate City," historically known as the gateway to the Snake River Plains. The meandering sidewalk path represents passage through both time and space.
	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	USA	Equatorial Dial	Dial 741
	An equatorial projection dial with a 12 inch diameter stainless steel equatorial ring incised with Arabic hour numerals that project onto a grooved central support shaft of Cipollino and Carrara marble set on a bluestone foundation. A hole near the top of the central marble shaft emits flowing water that runs down the central groove and is recirculated in the warm months. The sundial/fountain marble shaft is 7 inches wide, 36 inches high with a 24 by 55 inch wide base. The dial and nearby Cipollino marble bench rest on a 13-1/2 foot diameter foundation of bluestone pavers set on concrete. Direct sunlight on the dial is limited by two of the three nearby buildings. In summer with a high elevation sun, sunlight casts gnomon shadows mid-day and for a few hours in the afternoon. The sundial/fountain sculpture was commissioned by Society Hill Towers in honor of I. M. Pei, Architect of the Towers and was dedicated on the 40th anniversary of the Towers in 2003.
	Palos Verdes Estates	California	USA	Armillary Sphere	Dial 740
	A 1.5 meter diameter bronze armillary sphere atop a beige stone pedestal at the center of a 9 meter diameter pond or fountain. The Armillary includes meridian, equatorial and horizon rings as well as Arctic and Antarctic circles. The equatorial ring is perforated with Roman hour numerals and Zodiacal symbols. The central gnomon rod has a ball at the north end and an arrow tail at the south end.
	Ottawa	Ontario	Canada	Sun Alignment	Dial 739
	A memorial alignment dial that illuminates the headstone of the Unknown Soldier on Remembrance Day, November 11 at 11:00 AM, commemorating the end of World War I. Remembrance Day is celebrated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of each year.
	Oak Bay	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 738
	A 10 inch square brass or bronze horizontal dial atop a 22 inch square concrete base with cross-shaped plinth 42 inches high. The natural patina developed by the corrosive sea air has reduced the contrast of the markings. Stylized Arabic hour numerals are engraved in circles. Engraved scrolls add interest but some confusion to the dial face. The dial face and gnomon are only one-eighth inch thick but remain intact.
	North Little Rock	Arkansas	USA	Horizontal Dial	Dial 737
	A cast bronze horizontal dial atop a concrete pedestal. The dial face includes hour lines, quarter hour marks and Roman hour numerals. The dial face includes inscribed (not in original casting) lines that indicate the sunrise and sunset times for the longest day (L-Day VI-21), shortest day (S-Day XII-21) and equinoxes (12-H Day IX-21).
	Langford	British Columbia	Canada	Horizontal Dial	Dial 736
	A cast bronze horizontal dial with thick bronze gnomon. Dial face shows hour lines and quarter-hour marks, and Roman hour numerals. Dial center includes a compass rose.
	Tucson	Arizona	USA	Globe or Hemispheric	Dial 735
	A fused silica glass spherical lens projects a solar image spot onto the inner surface of a spherical segment of glass with a frosted area inscribed with hour lines and Arabic hour numerals. Time is read from the bright spot of light on the frosted surface while standing under the dial. Dial is mounted atop a pipe pillar on the patio of the Visitor Center.
	Carlsbad	California	USA	Vertical Dial	Dial 734
	A large vertical dial on an east-declining south stucco wall of an elevator tower in the parking lot of McClellan Airport. The gnomon, hour and declination lines and Arabic numerals are stainless steel. The dial design is flawed, incorrect for either a point-in-space nodus dial or a polar-inclined gnomon dial. The installed gnomon is horizontal but if intended to support only a nodus, the location is wrong; the nodus shadow is outside the lower declination line in the photos. The hour lines radiate from the gnomon base as for a polar-inclined gnomon; they should radiate from a point much higher if for a point-in-space nodus.