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).

 
 
Barnwell South Carolina USA Vertical Dial Dial 112
This vertical cast iron dial is a rectangle approximately 30x40 inches mounted on a pole. The Barnwell sundial was a gift to the city in Sept 1858 from state senator J.D. Allen, and has continuously shown civil time - accurate to within two minutes - for over 150 years. The vertical dial has an Equation of Time list of corrections for each week, giving the correction in minutes and seconds. A canon ball from the civil war sits atop the sundial. The dial is surrounded by a low circular wall with bronze statuary of a boy walking on the wall and a girl at some distance, looking at the dial.
 
 
New Britain Connecticut USA Vertical Dial Dial 111
A 19 ft steel sculpture named 'Sheng'. Commissioned by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts in 1987 and designed by Robert Adzema. Basically a combination East and West direct dial with a circular gnomon.
 
 
Bloomfield New Jersey USA Armillary Sphere Dial 109
An armillary sphere 5 feet in diameter, with a bronze 8 inch equatorial band holding hour marks on the inside and decorated with animals of the zodiac on the outside. A simple rod serves as the gnomon. The armillary is supported by 8 cast bronze turtles on top of a four foot cylindrical pedestal. The turtles point to the cardinal and intermediary points of the compass. This very handsome dial was made by Kenneth Lynch.
 
 
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA Horizontal Dial Dial 108
A bronze and well patina circular horizontal dial about 18 inches in diameter. The dial is delineated in 10-minute increments with Arabic hour numbers. Dial sits atop a plain circular column. The gnomon is plain, secured to the dial plate with four bolts.
 
 
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA Horizontal Dial Dial 107
In May of 1914, a beautiful sundial was erected in Schenley Park in memory of the Pittsburgh Blues, a company sent out from Pittsburgh. To remember this event Pennsylvania Chapters including the Keystone Chapter, Old Ironsides Chapter, General Robert Patterson Chapter, and the Stephen Decatur Chapter participated in the famous grave marking ceremonies which located, honored, and decorated hundreds of graves of men who served in the War of 1812 with custom made flags and flowers.
 
 
Des Moines Iowa USA Horizontal Dial Dial 106
This beautiful horizontal brass dial is 24 inches in diameter, cast onto a larger circle 28 inches in diameter. The dial has raised hour, half-hour, and 15-minute lines drawn in esthetic proportions from 5 am to 7pm. Roman numerals are on the outer rim. In the center to the left and right of the gnomon is a table for the Equation of Time in 15 day increments. The dial rests on four brass columns 20 inches high, which are mounted on a brass base 28 inches in diameter. The entire structure is centered on a concrete octagon 6 1/2 feet across.
 
 
Superior Arizona USA Horizontal Dial Dial 105
A small 8 in. bronze horizontal dial with raised Arabic numerals marking the hours. The dial is set on a massive cobble stone and mortar base suitable for sitting upon while watching the hours.
 
 
Ambridge Pennsylvania USA Polyhedral Dial Dial 104
In the garden of Old Economy Village is a 1964 reproduction of the historic 1825 original keep safety indoors. The 9-inch stone dial has four vertical dials on the E,W, N and S sides and one horizontal dial on top. The replica is in fair shape where the engraved hour lines are now severely weathered. The replica five iron gnomons are in fair condition, but still tell reasonably accurate local solar time. Each dial is delineated in half-hour marks with the hours shown in Arabic numbers.
 
 
Oxford Ohio USA Armillary Sphere Dial 103
A 6 foot armillary sphere sitting on a marble column supported by a ring of turtles. The armillary has equatorial, meridian, polar and equatorial rings, plus the arctic and antarctic rings near the poles. Along the outside of the equatorial ring are golden figures, marking the houses of the zodiac. On the inside of the equatorial ring are Roman numerals marking the hours. The armillary was a gift to the university on its 50th anniversary by the Miami chapter of Delta Delta Delta sorority. The plaque given coordinates of latitude and longitude of the dial that are slightly different than those from Google Earth, which are the coordinates given here.
 
 
Dayton Ohio USA Horizontal Dial Dial 102
A circular granite dial about 2 feet (.75cm) in diameter. It has an ornate, very large triangular gnomon of brass decorated with flowers. The dial sits on a sculpted column with spreading base. Protected by brass railing that surrounds the dial. The dial was erected in 1896 to celebrate Dayton's centennial. The dial was moved from its former location on Monument Avenue (originally called Main Street) in front of Newcom Tavern and relocated during ceremonies marking the moving of Newcom Tavern to Carillon Park on May 1, 1965.
 
 
Chapel Hill North Carolina USA Horizontal Dial Dial 101
A 35 foot diameter horizontal dial of terrazzo with inset bronze hour lines and Roman hour numerals. The bronze gnomon edge is 24 feet long and at the tip stands 14 feet tall. In the base of the gnomon is a circular opening, holding a large inset bronze hour glass. In the terrazzo at the dial center is an inset bronze sun graphic with wavy spicules; this inset contains a US Coast and Geodetic Survey Triangulation Station marker. A plaque gives correction for EOT and longitude.
 
 
Long Island New York USA Horizontal Dial Dial 100
A bronze circular horizontal dial about 18 inches in diameter. At the edge of the dial set in concentric rings are the hour lines, half hour lines, quarter hour and five minute marks. Hours are in Roman numerals from 5am to 7pm. Has a thick brass gnomon.
 
 
Ithaca New York USA Equatorial Dial Dial 99
This 650 pound equatorial has a gear adjustment to rotate the equatorial time ring using a knob on the side of the pillar. This allows correction for the Equation of Time (sun's apparent variability in crossing the noon meridian and enables the instrument to read clock time, making this a very precise instrument. The gearing rusted in 1980 and was refurbished: "The heart of the sundial's functionality, a roundish steel disc called a cam, was also replaced with a stainless steel, slightly better-functioning one, connected to an hour and minute scale by small, stainless steel cables via a pair of precisely designed pulleys." Thus the mechanical adjustment compensates for the sun's irregular motion called the Equation of Time and shows civil not solar time.
 
 
Morristown New Jersey USA Horizontal Dial Dial 98
12.75' dia. Granite with Bronze numerals 10" long. Commonly called the Washington Memorial Dial. An inscription on the octagonal base indicates this memorial is a tribute from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
 
 
Isles of Shoals New Hampshire USA Armillary Sphere Dial 97
Simple armillary dial about 2 feet in diameter sits on a triangular cut stone pedestal. The equatorial band has raised Arabic numbers at each hour. The hours are adjusted by 42 minutes to correct for zone time. The gnomon is an arrow rod of traditional fashion. The base supporting the armillary is a small hemisphere globe, with a map of the continents plainly visible. The armillary cuts the globe at the Greenwich hour line facing due north. The triangular granite stone pedestal was once part of the Captain John Smith Monument, commemorating him as the discoverer of the Isles of Shoals in 1610.
 
 
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.
 
 
Worcester Massachusetts USA Equatorial Dial Dial 95
ca 6' segment of cylinder, approx 3' high Metal Gnomon is intentionally omitted. Visitor stands centered in the curve of the cylinder and places finger on crossbar as directed. Shadow of finger indicates the time.
 
 
Collinsville Illinois USA Sun Alignment Dial 94
At the Cahokia Mounds is a woodhenge discovered in the early 1960's during excavations and has been reconstructed. There are a series of wood posts in multiple circles that indicate various solar events such as the solstices, equinoxes, and what are thought to be special festival days related to the agricultural cycle of the region. Critical posts also align with the mounds of the site on certain dates. The outer of 3 circles of posts has a diameter of 410 feet with 48 equidistant posts. Each post is about 20 feet high. Equinox and solstice sunrise observations are held at the site on the Sunday morning closest to the event.
 
 
Halifax Nova Scotia Canada Horizontal Dial Dial 93
Bronze horizontal dial on a granite base. Has Roman numerals showing time noting "Mean solar time in Halifax is 1 hour and 14 minutes behind Atlantic Standard Time."
 
 
Milton Massachusetts USA Vertical Dial Dial 92
A vertical south facing dial made of painted mahogany with an aluminum gnomon. The dial is in the shape of a shield 3 foot tall by 2 1/2 foot wide, following the seal of the Milton Academy. Around the edge are the hours in Roman numeral. An Equation of Time correction table is now missing, but does not detract from the beauty of the dial. The dial is kept in excellent condition in red, blue and gold motif.
 
 
Baltimore Maryland USA Polyhedral Dial Dial 91
Bronze on stone. Renovated 1904 and again in 1994 (by George McDowell.). It is a 17-facet hemispherical compendium dial. Has facets calibrated for local solar time for Baltimore, Jeddo [Tokyo], Honolulu, Sitka, Pitcairn Islands, San Francisco, Cape Cod, Rio Jancito, London, Fernano Po, Cape Town, Jerusalem, and Calcutta. Has a polar and vertical dial for Baltimore time. Built in 1892 by Peter Hamilton, 19th C Baltimore stonecutter, became president of the company which supplied granite for the Library of Congress building. Repaired and reset in 1904. Reworked in 1993. The original pedestal remains, consisting of a stone pillar carved to resemble the trunk of a tree.
 
 
Frankfort Kentucky USA Horizontal Dial Dial 90
The Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial features a 7090 square foot plaza with a monumental 86x68 foot horizontal dial of granite slabs with a 14.6 foot high gnomon of welded stainless steel plates.
 
 
Orlando Florida USA Pillar Dial Dial 89
Reconstruction of a 4-sided pillar dial.
 
 
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.
 
 
Quebec Quebec Canada Vertical Dial Dial 87
Vertical dial on a board, about 1.5m high by 1 m wide. White with red lettering. It is placed above a doorway on an interior courtyard of the old Seminary, founded in 1663 by Mgr de Laval. The building now houses the architecture school of the Laval University. Although the school and Seminary buildings are private, access is available to the courtyard.
 
 
Stratford Connecticut USA Vertical Dial Dial 86
Large vertical dial at the Shakespeare Festival Theatre entrance. The dial is formed around a large circular sunburst with Roman numerals at the edge. Gnomon is missing. Dial declines east and is non-functional for this position and location. Above the dial is a shield.
 
 
Storrs Connecticut USA Pillar Dial Dial 85
Waugh memorial dial. Not oriented on cardinal points. It was rotated to avoid tree and adjacent building shadows. Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Lynch Sr., the Alumni Association, and funds raised for the purpose. The stone pillar is 12 ft. high. Constructed by the firm of Kenneth Lynch & Sons.
 
 
Pomfret Connecticut USA Pillar Dial Dial 84
A 22 ft. high stone pillar dial built by William Ross Carpenter as a replica of the famous Charles Turnbull dial of Corpus Christi College in England dating from 1577. The pillar dial, called the Pelican dial, has multiple dials of various types. The Carpenter replica built in 1912 was restored in 1987. Ornate dial furniture with multiple inscriptions. A complex masterpiece. See the NASS Compendium Vol. 2 No. 1 for more details.
 
 
Newington Connecticut USA Horizontal Dial Dial 83
Bronze horizontal ring, suspended by curved semi-circles, with gnomon rising from the center toward the North. "...you can see resemblances to an anchor, a gimbal, and a mariner's compass" says designer Searle Lansing-Jones.
 
 
San Francisco California USA Horizontal Dial Dial 82
Built in 1913 as a promotion for a housing development that was once a racetrack, this dial boasted (incorrectly) that at 34 feet in diameter and a gnomon style 28 feet in length, it was the largest dial in the world. Nevertheless it gathered much publicity and newspaper articles thanks to the Urban Realty Improvement Co. The company put out a brochure "The Sundial at Ingleside Terrace with Comments on Homes" using the sundial as a lure to attract home buyers to the newly constructed residential neighborhood. On Oct 10, the same day the Panama Canal was opened, a festive gala was held at the sundial dedication attended by more than 1500 people. Photos show young girls dancing around a small pool that surrounded the gnomon. A light (visible in several early photos) dangled from the tip of the gnomon. Bronze statues of seals were originally in the pool, but by 1920 the pool was filled with concrete and the seals were gone. Today the pool area is painted green.
 
 
Aurora Colorado USA Equatorial Dial Dial 81
A large Erickson Monument equatorial polar dial 6 feet in diameter made of light granite with a 3 inch steel rod as gnomon. The dial was dedicated as part of the bicentennial celebrations in July 1976. Hour lines from 4am to 8pm. Time is graduated by half-hour, quarter hours and 5 minute marks. Designed to be read from the upper surface in Spring/Summer, from the under side in Fall/Winter. A plaque provides the Equation of Time to convert solar time to watch time. Dial has both the bicentennial emblem and the city seal of the city of Aurora.
 
 
San Diego California USA Vertical Dial Dial 80
This dial was originally owned and installed at Sea World in San Diego but was sold and purchased by Verlyn Kuhlmann. A 39 inch diameter reclining vertical dial of cast concrete with a 20 inch long steel gnomon. Dial reclines about 50°. Includes cast hour lines with Arabic numerals and longitude correction. A separate plaque provides instructions and an EOT graph. The dial is mounted on a 24 inch square aluminum base plate and short column support.
 
 
Huntington Beach California USA Vertical Dial Dial 78
A 7x8 foot direct south facing vertical dial of wood with metal gnomon on the masonry stucco side of a fire station building. Hour lines are painted on wood planks bolted to the side of the building. Metal Arabic DST hour numerals are mounted to the wood planks. Longitude correction is not included and there is no EOT correction or instructions offered but dial is accurate when both corrections are applied.
 
 
Los Angeles California USA Equatorial Dial Dial 77
A bronze equatorial ring dial with taut wire gnomon on concrete pedestal. Ring is inscribed with hour, ten-minute and minute lines. Plaque states the dial indicates correct watch time so observatory staff periodically rotates clamped ring to correct for EOT, longitude and DST. Dial is located adjacent to the Astronomers Monument atop which is a large bronze armillary. The monument recognizes Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton and Hershel. The sundial was originally built into the base of the Astronomers Monument but was relocated a few feet to the south during the 2002-2006 remodeling to allow visitors to more closely approach the dial. The dial sits atop a concrete pedestal.
 
 
Death Valley California USA Vertical Dial Dial 76
Prospector and con man Walter Scott convinced Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson to invest in his gold mine in the Death Valley area. The mine was a fraud, but Johnson began building his Spanish Revival Villa in 1922 that continued until the stock market crash of 1929. Martin de Dubovay was the architect, Mat Roy Thompson was the engineer and head of construction, and Charles Alexander MacNeilledge was the designer
 
 
Tempe Arizona USA Equatorial Dial Dial 75
An equatorial dial designed by R. Newton Mayall with a "curved triangular gnomon over a curved face approximately 1ft. wide. Tells the day of the year and standard time noon." Has a plaque explaining the Equation of Time.
 
 
Seattle Washington USA Analemmatic Dial Dial 74
27 foot circle containing a fanciful analemmatic dial made of bronze and concrete with countless embedded items. Seattle Sundial Trails notes "It requires more than a casual look to recognize the paving that tops Kite Hill as a sundial. At first glance, it seems as if the high tide washed over a bed of fresh concrete, leaving lots of marine creatures and wave prints behind.....The structure is colored concrete, with many interesting inlaid objects scattered throughout, including a bronze bear claw, a ceramic crab, pieces of pottery and glass and shells, etc. Many features are in bronze (such as some hour numerals and the [zodiac walkway] on which one stands.... Bronze casts of three pairs of footprints are those of Greening, the (anonymous) donor of the piece, and the donor’s dog! There are, however, so many inlaid objects and the hour numerals are so stylized that the dial pattern is somewhat obscured." At the center of the dial is a large yin-yang symbol, made from light and dark concrete. Within this is the zodiac walkway to stand for casting the hour's shadow. However normal dates have given way to elongated bronze band loops around a wavy center line using zodiac signs to indicate the months. For example: Equinoxes are indicated by Aries and Libra while the summer solstice is the Tropic of Cancer and winter solstice is Tropic of Capricorn.
 
 
Johnson Vermont USA Horizontal Dial Dial 71
One of Kate Pond's first dials, a winning design for an 18 foot diameter dial that now resides on the University of North Vermont - Johnson green. Concrete, Stainless Steel. On the ground concrete paths mark the N-S and E-W axes. The gnomon is a 3 inch stainless steel pipe 9 feet long attached to a concrete base. The hours are marked with 1 foot diameter Vermont granite stones, and at the cardinal points are larger stone markers. Kenneth Leslie, Assistant Professor of Art, remarked, " I have the idea of a student sitting against the North marker, reading a newspaper for a noon class, and knowing it's time to leave when the shadow crosses his paper."
 
 
Jerico Vermont USA Horizontal Dial Dial 70
50 foot diameter horizontal dial of steel, concrete and stone. Called "Polaris". The gnomon is 10 foot high forming a stone pyramid. As the sun shines through a hole at the center, an analemma is traced on the ground. Markers identify equinox sunrises and solstice sunsets. The dial was built by Kate Pond and her students. See NASS Compendium Vol 1, No. 2, May 1994.
 
 
Houston Texas USA Horizontal Dial Dial 68
Monumental size sundial with a black granite gnomon shaped as a tetrahedral with a small silver ball nodus at the peak. The 12 foot gnomon has a slope of 29.72 deg matching the latitude of Houston. The dial face is white granite with black granite stripes for hour lines, each marked by Roman numerals.granite stripes for hour lines. Along each hour line are markers for month pairs when the shadow of the nodus passes over. These markers are connected by thin declination lines, including the limits of summer and winter solstice and the straight line showing the equinox.
 
 
Amarillo Texas USA Obelisk or Vertical Gnomon Dial 67
The Centennial Time Tower begins as a tetrahedron of stainless steel pipes each 18 feet long. Then a central pipe towers to the sky, giving an overall height of about 50 feet. The Time Tower is situated on a circle about 100 feet in diameter. The dial was erected for the hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Helium. Each individual pipe is a time capsule filled with helium. The plaque under the center of the tower shows when each one is to be opened.
 
 
Trois Rivieres Quebec Canada Vertical Dial Dial 66
A declining vertical dial approximately 6 feet wide and 8 feet tall of painted wood. Diol declines 58? west of south. Dial includes a two-lined analemma noon mark that shows noon corrected for EOT. Hour lines with Roman numerals show local time from 10 AM to 7 PM. Dial is located about 30 feet high on a wall, above an alcove with a statue of the Virgin Mary. The gnomon length is correct for the shadow of the tip to fall on the noon mark. Dial furniture includes a lunar crescent and a depiction of a beaver carrying a tree branch, in a classic French tradition and similar to dials of Zarbula's overall design.
 
 
Stanstead Quebec Canada Horizontal Dial Dial 65
A horizontal dial "sculptural triptych" called "Zig-Zag". Three steel pipes 8x15x13 feet define the sundial. The shadow from its highest point will run along the lower horizontal section exactly E-W at the equinoxes. Stainless steel bolts on the horizontal section serve as hour markers to that time is recorded throughout the year, with the first section of the zigzag serving as the gnomon. The dial-sculpture was funded in part by a 1991 award of a Vermont Community Fund Grant. See NASS Compendium Vol. 1 No. 2, May 1994
 
 
Oberlin Ohio USA Sun Alignment Dial 63
When is a flag pole more than a flag pole? When it has cement walkway curved for the summer solstice, a path for the winter solstice and a distinguishing straight cement line for the spring and fall equinox. This dial has no hour markers, and is intended to show the seasons. The tip of the flag pole will follow these lines at the appropriate day of the season.
 
 
London Ontario Canada Heliochronometer Dial 62
A brass Pilkington-Gibbs heliochronomer aligned to the celestial equator. Rotate the helioscope until the sun shines from the upper hole to the lower plate, then read the time from an accompanying dial. The Pilkington-Gibbs dial includes a patented cam mechanism to adjust for the Equation of Time.
 
 
Great Falls Montana USA Equatorial Dial Dial 61
A monumental bow-string equatorial dial of curved 4x6 inch welded steel I-beams forming a 14 foot diameter equatorial arc. Stainless steel Roman hour numerals 5 AM to 7 PM are welded to the arc. Metal for the dial was once used at Rainbow Dam and was formed and welded at Rainbow Powerhouse.
 
 
Rochester New York USA Equatorial Dial Dial 60
A large 40 foot equatorial dial. The dial band is about 5 feet wide with raised Roman numerals at each hour mark. The gnomon is a rod approximately 15 feet long, ingeniously suspended by wires at the center of the dial. No shadow of the support wires can be seen, just the line of the gnomon appears on the dial band.
 
 
Highland Park Illinois USA Horizontal Dial Dial 55
A cast bronze horizontal dial with hour, half-hour and quarter-hour lines and Roman hour numerals for 5AM to 7PM. Dial face symbol depicts a winged hourglass.
 
 
St. Louis Missouri USA Vertical Dial Dial 54
This modernistic vertical south declining dial was designed by Mel Meyer and installed in 1989. The dial is an 8 by 10 foot stainless steel sundial with ribbed hour lines. No numerals are used. The gnomon is a solid triangle 3.5 inches wide by 85 inches high.
 
 
Brunswick Maine USA Vertical Dial Dial 53
A set of three declining vertical dials each approximately 3x4 foot of carved Indiana Limestone set into the east, south and west facades of Hubbard Hall. Dial faces include hour lines and Arabic hour numerals. Each bronze gnomon rod is additionally supported at its end. The dials are not corrected for longitude and there is no EOT correction provided. With corrections, all three dials tell accurate time. The building south wall declines approximately 18? west of south.