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.

 

Maryland

 
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.
 
 
Baltimore Maryland USA Horizontal Dial Dial 323
Nice horizontal dial sitting on a 6 x 4 foot stone pedestal. The dial itself is 5 foot in diameter with a 2.5 foot gnomon of open-work bronze. The lines, numerals and lettering of the dial face are so finely done that one cannot tell whether the dial plate was made of cast stone or was carved by an extraordinarily skilled mason. The gnomon, unfortunately, is situated incorrectly on the dial face. The point at which the stile diverges from the dial plate is about five inches south of the correct point where the hour lines converge.
 
 
Baltimore Maryland USA Horizontal Dial Dial 324
A horizontal dial 36 inches in diameter, made of bronze, sitting on an irregular pentagonal block of granite. Gnomon missing. Calibrated to read local solar time, and has a graph of the Equation of Time to correct readings to standard time.
 
 
Baltimore Maryland USA Horizontal Dial Dial 325
A 12 inch diameter horizontal bronze dial. A wire is stretched from the dial's center, which is decorated as a cluster of flowers, to the beak of a bird perched on the rim of the dial plate, forming the gnomon at proper angle. The bird is apparently the 'early bird' eating the worm (gnomon). The dial plate itself has hour lines and Roman numerals from 5 am to 7 pm. Dial sits atop a cast concrete post with octagonal top.
 
 
Baltimore Maryland USA Horizontal Dial Dial 326
Very bad small dial on a beautiful stone pedestal. The engraving on the base states that it was erected in 1908. At some point the dial face went missing. A new dial was installed sometime before 1966. It is doubtful that the existing dial is a replica of the original. The stylistic differences between the design of the pedestal and the design of the new dial which sits atop it are apparent. The gnomon is now missing from the dial.
 
 
Baltimore Maryland USA Equatorial Dial Dial 327
The dial is a partial cylinder held upright at the proper angle by four ornate pillars. The gnomon is a wire stretched between another pillar at the south edge and the mouth of an eagle mounted on another pillar at the north edge. On the wire is a bead, the shadow of which falls on the cylindrical plate. The cylindrical plate has an analemma for each daylight hour of standard time.' (McDowell) One of three known to be made in this design. Another dial of this design, once in front of the Physical Laboratory at Northwestern University, was placed at a private residence in New Hampshire in 1973, Evanston, IL.
 
 
Banica Dominican Republic Vertical Dial Dial 350
A small pillar dial with a vertical dial on one face. The dial markings sit below a triangular crown inscribed with the date MDCCVC, showing 1795 as the year it was carved. Today, the bottom portion of the pillar appears to be reconstructed and the gnomon is missing.
 
 
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.
 
 
Bay Fortune Prince Edward Island Canada Horizontal Dial Dial 868
A brass, horizontal dial about 14 inches in diameter sits on a stone pedestal with a red marble cap. Embossed Roman numbers mark the hours from 4am to 8pm, and delineated every 10 minutes. Radiating from the center are pointed leaves to each hour. The dial plate green patina is marred by graffiti and the gnomon has broken off. A restoration for this dial is planned using the original gnomon.
 
 
Beaufort South Carolina USA Horizontal Dial Dial 1014
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Parris Island SC. This cast bronze dial was designed and commissioned by RADM Farenholt for U.S. Naval Hospitals at bases where he was commanding officer, visited, or had special meaning to him. The dial is 18 inches (46cm) in diameter. The outer chapter ring has the motto, followed by a chapter ring with Arabic hours 6am to 6pm, raised hour lines that radiate from near the foot of the gnomon and short half-hour lines. The gnomon has graceful curves and a star cut-out in the center. Below the gnomon is the naval command name, followed by the commissioning date in the southern portion of the hours chapter ring.
 
 
Bellingham Washington USA Vertical Dial Dial 915
The vertical dial is incorporated into a bright, flowing mural 29 x 54 feet covering nearly all of the south wall of a brick building. The mural was several years in the making. It began with an international competition sponsored by Allied Arts of Bellingham and sundial enthusiast Sasch Stephens. Ultimately the mural with embedded vertical dial was dedicated on the fall equinox. Called the "First Shadow Celebration" many local celebrities recognized the new mural artwork and old art of sun dialing.
 
 
Berkeley California USA Horizontal Dial Dial 1064
A 10 3/4 inch (27.3 cm) octagonal bronze horizontal dial is fixed to a marble tablet and rests on a thin pedestal for a total height of 32 inches (81.3 cm). Gnomon is badly bent. Has a round chapter ring with large hour marks in Arabic numerals.
 
 
Berkeley California USA Armillary Sphere Dial 612
The armillary dial is made of red bronze and rests on a quarried stone pedestal. The equatorial ring includes hour lines with 15-minute marks and Roman numerals. It was created by Frank Cheney, a UC Berkeley graduate, Class of 1941, and later donated to the Garden by his family. Mr. Cheney was a civil engineer who developed a hobby of building sundials.
 
 
Berkeley California USA Horizontal Dial Dial 16
A classic horizontal dial 16 inch diameter (41cm) made of bronze. Gnomon is 8 in. (29cm) long, 5 in. (13cm)high. Donated in 1915 by Class of 1877. Nicely engraved Roman hour numerals and delineated every 5 minutes. On the dial face is an Equation of Time table by date. The dial sits atop a marble pedestal, 4 foot (1.2m) high.
 
 
Berkeley California USA Sculpture/Artwork Dial 423
This is a large granite statue by Richard O'hanlon entitled "Sunstone II" and was designed in collaboration with astronomer David Cudaback. A north-south large polished granite slab has the top cut at the latitude of 38 degrees to sight the North Star. A hole in the stone allows east or west viewing, with limiting angles designed to show the extent of maximum planetary and lunar wandering. An east-west stone crosses the north side of the granite slab, allowing light to pass only at noontime onto a heel stone with marks for Equinox and Solstice. Access by admission to the Hall of Science museum
 
 
Berkeley California USA Horizontal Dial Dial 422
At the edge of the bay is a round horizontal sundial about 10 feet in diameter with a stark triangular gnomon. Both gnomon and dial base are of hammered concrete. The base rises above the ground by about 2 feet where Arabic numbers encircle the dial to tell the hours. The dial face is not quite level, perhaps to help with water runoff.
 
 
Berryville Virginia USA Horizontal Dial Dial 520
This lovely horizontal dial was originally located in New York City NY on the grounds of the Doubleday & Co. book manufacturing plant. It was subsequently moved to Berryville VA in 1956, and is now part of Berryville Graphics. The sundial stands about 4 feet high and has a brass reproduction of the Gutenberg Bible of Forty Two Lines (originally produced around 1455) and the hour markers are brass plates of twelve printers' marks from the earliest printers.
 
 
Bethesda Maryland United States Horizontal Dial Dial 462
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands. This cast bronze dial was designed and commissioned by RADM Farenholt for U.S. Naval Hospitals at bases where he was commanding officer, visited, or had special meaning to him. The dial is 18 inches (46cm) in diameter. The outer chapter ring has the motto, followed by a chapter ring with Arabic hours 6am to 6pm, raised hour lines that radiate from near the foot of the gnomon and short half-hour lines. The gnomon has graceful curves and a quatrefoil cut-out in the center. Below the gnomon is the naval command name, followed by the commissioning date in the southern portion of the hours chapter ring.
 
 
Bethesda Maryland United States Horizontal Dial Dial 461
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Brooklyn NY. This cast bronze dial was designed and commissioned by RADM Farenholt for U.S. Naval Hospitals at bases where he was commanding officer, visited, or had special meaning to him. The dial is 18 inches (46cm) in diameter. The outer chapter ring has the motto, followed by a chapter ring with Arabic hours 6am to 6pm, raised hour lines that radiate from near the foot of the gnomon and short half-hour lines. The gnomon has graceful curves and a trefoil cut-out in the center. Below the gnomon is the naval command name, followed by the commissioning date in the southern portion of the hours chapter ring.
 
 
Bethesda Maryland USA Horizontal Dial Dial 258
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Center Maryland. This cast bronze dial was designed and commissioned by RADM Farenholt for U.S. Naval Hospitals at bases where he was commanding officer, visited, or had special meaning to him. The dial is 18 inches (46cm) in diameter. The outer chapter ring has the motto, followed by a chapter ring with Arabic hours 6am to 6pm, raised hour lines that radiate from near the foot of the gnomon and short half-hour lines. The gnomon has graceful curves and a trefoil cut-out in the center. The dial base is on a stone pillar. The dial sits in a shallow stone bowl about 3 feet from the ground.
 
 
Big Bay Ontario Canada Analemmatic Dial Dial 467
This is a nicely constructed analemmatic dial, made of concrete, stone and ceramic tile. The hour markers are a series of small posts set in a continuous elliptical path with a 6 meter major axis and 4 meter minor axis. The sundial is located in a field next to a megalithic henge at Keppel Croft Farm and Gardens.
 
 
Binghamton New York USA Horizontal Dial Dial 404
A 20-foot in diameter horizontal dial at ground level made of concrete. Part of the campus plaza. The gnomon is also concrete, approximately 8 inches wide and 5 foot tall. Place for students of SUNY Binghamton University to congregate.
 
 
Black Rock City Nevada USA Sculpture/Artwork Dial 439
The Pyrolarium was a sundial designed for the Burning Man Festival (1999) to shoot exploding mortars into the sky at each hour of the day. The structure was 12 feet in diameter and nearly 18 feet high. On an upper platform out of the reach of people were a series of tubes loaded with black powder. Around the perimeter of the platform were a set of Fresnel lenses, igniting them in succession throughout the day. The last mortar ignited at sunset and the Pryolarium was incinerated, as is the custom of all artwork displayed at the Burning Man Festival.
 
 
Black Rock City Nevada USA Equatorial Dial Dial 1002
"About Time" was a 30 foot long, 3000 pound wooden pyramid. This installation projected time using two sundials: a gnomonic vertical sundial that swept its shadow of time out across the desert floor and an equatorial dial located on one faces of the pyramid. A platform at the peak of the pyramid allowed observers to become the gnomonic sundial’s apex and to experience 360 deg views of the landscape. At the end of the installation the piece was burned, a testament to the unidirectional march of entropy and time, underscoring the fleeting nature of the present moment.
 
 
Bloomfield Connecticut USA Vertical Dial Dial 25
Vertical dial on an eight ton granite cube, 4 foot (1,2m) on a side. Three vertical dials carved into the east, south and west sides. All three gnomons are missing A similar CIGNA cube dial is in Los Angeles, Union Square. Both dials owned by CIGNA Insurance Co.
 
 
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.
 
 
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"
 
 
Bloomfield Hills Michigan USA Horizontal Dial Dial 837
In Cranbrook Gardens, where works of art topiary and American crafts are displayed, one can find a brass horizontal dial transformed into a beautiful sculpture of a ginkgo leaf with the stem serving as the style. Hour lines are the radiating leaf veins. A small circle with Arabic numbers delineates each hour from 6am to 6pm..The ginkgo leaf sundial is about 40 cm and the height of the tail about 14 cm. The sundial hour circle is about 20 cm in diameter.
 
 
Bloomington Indiana USA Horizontal Dial Dial 38
A small horizontal dial, about 18 inches in diameter. The dial plate is tilted 2 deg to the horizon to allow water run-off. However, more unusual is the base that contains a hand crank connected to a scalloped drum that tilts the entire dial to adjust for the Equation of Time. The drum is rotated to the current date and the drum edge pushes a cam that tilts the plane of the horizontal face so that standard time is indicated to within half a minute. The dial is actually mounted on an equatorial axis. Since 1979 the dial has gone into a state of disrepair and is overgrown by bushes.
 
 
Bloomington Minnesota USA Equatorial Dial Dial 447
An Erickson Monument polar equatorial dial of light granite, approximately 5 feet in diameter and 6 inches thick. The gnomon shaft is steel, 3 inches in diameter, extending from the ground through the dial plate and outward another 18 inches. 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. 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. Compare this dial with other Erickson dials
 
 
Bloomington Indiana USA Horizontal Dial Dial 336
A 24 inch octagonal horizontal dial probably made of marble. The dial is plain, with Roman numerals at the end of hour lines. The gnomon is a simple open triangle of well aged brass. The base is an octagonal pillar surrounded by flowers. The dial was struck by a falling tree in spring 2011. The gnomon style is broken and bent and the support has several large cracks. The falling tree also damaged the surrounding fence.
 
 
Bloomington Indiana USA Vertical Dial Dial 728
An approximately 4 foot square, limestone south-facing vertical dial with a bronze gnomon. Dial face has hour lines and half-hour marks with Arabic numerals. Tall trees shade the dial most of the day.
 
 
Boardman Ohio USA Vertical Dial Dial 1031
This vertical dial fits well with the gothic style of the memorial chapel. The sundial gnomon and its fittings appear to be cast bronze, appropriately ornate and quite beautiful. Arabic numerals are chiseled into the stone wall, marking the hours of 6, 9, 11, 12, 1, 3 and 6. Other hour lines are unlabeled.
 
 
Boise Idaho USA Equatorial Dial Dial 344
Equatorial dial 5 ft high, 6 ft. wide and 4 ft. deep. The dial was designed by Pete Swanstrom, built and donated by JST Custom Fabrication Inc. of Boise. The gnomon is of unusual design with a central pivoting elliptical plate and analemmatic cut out. The analemma is marked with 365 individual date marks. Shadow falls on equatorial ring with hours marked from 7am to 7pm and inscribed with lines for every minute (spaced 1/7 inch apart). Indicates time to less than 15 seconds, making it among the most accurate sundials in the world. Indicates true time to the minute, date to the day, and adjusts for Daylight saving time. The Latin inscription should read "Tempus Captum" rather than "Tempus Captus".
 
 
Boston Massachusetts USA Horizontal Dial Dial 280
A small bronze horizontal dial with bronze figures of a bird with baby birds in nest and pulled worm as gnomon. The whole dial on originally set on a large granite boulder. The dial may have been moved to the roof-top garden, but a photo of the garden shows no large boulder. A possible photo (seen in a Getty commercial image) shows the dial on the ground missing the gnomon. It may not have even been orientated properly to be used as a sundial when it was moved up to the rooftop.
 
 
Boston Massachusetts USA Vertical Dial Dial 41
Once high on east facing wall of the Old State House, was a vertical declining sundial originally built in 1713. The 6x4 foot dial was just above the third story window. It was restored by R.N. Mayall in 1957. But the background became a faded blue and hour lines were hard to see. At least the Roman numerals along edge were clearly visible. In the upper left corner of dial, just above the gnomon,was a small yellow sun.
 
 
Boston Massachusetts USA Sculpture/Artwork Dial 1073
The sundial is at the base of a larger sculpture, "Fantastical Historical Nautical Instrument" which includes many references to maritime history, navigation, and time keeping. The cast bronze dial plate is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, given a dark patina. The dial has what appears to be correctly delineated to tell local solar time. Roman numerals show between the hour marks and time is marked at 5-minute intervals. At center is a compass rose with 16 points of labelled directions. At the south end of the dial is a graphical equation of time. The gnomon is only partially correct with the majority distorted into an upright support for the fantastical nautical instruments and telescope representations above it. A portion of the gnomon may tell time during the hours around noon, but then the dial is overwhelmed by shadows not of its own. Treat this as part of a sculpture and enjoy the art.
 
 
Boulder Colorado USA Equatorial Dial Dial 172
A large polar equatorial dial by Erickson Monuments, known as the "Tippit Sundial" given by John Tippit in memory of his son. The dial is of dark red granite, 6 feet in diameter and 6.375 inches thick. The gnomon shaft is steel, extending from the ground through the dial plate and outward another two feet. 24 hours are inscribed on each side of the dial (summer and winter) as radiating lines with Arabic numbers at the end. Time is graduated by half-hour and 5 minute marks. Designed to be read from the upper surface in Spring/Summer, from the under side in Fall/Winter. The hours on the under side of the dial were originally engraved backwards. Two plaques provide the Equation of Time to convert solar time to watch time. The dial rests on a cement work 7 feet high.
 
 
Boulder Colorado USA Horizontal Dial Dial 137
A horizontal dial using a 60 cm brass plate gnomon with a slit that projects a shaft of light onto the dial face inscribed with un-numbered hour lines. Dial sits atop a cubical marble base with a plaque bearing the inscription.
 
 
Boulder City Nevada USA Vertical Dial Dial 691
A 2x3 foot vertical stained glass dial declining 44.3° west of south permanently located in the living room window of a private residence. Dial has a uniquely attached point-in-space nodus on a perpendicular gnomon secured with a magnet to an embedded steel disk in the glass dial face, preventing damage should the gnomon be struck. Dial face includes hour numerals, half-hour lines, solstice and equinox lines and a solar noon mark. Dial face consists of 210 pieces of glass, 40 feet of lead and zinc came and 20 engraved and hand painted pieces of glass. The frog-shaped perpendicular gnomon can be replaced with a ball-shaped gnomon.
 
 
Bowie Maryland USA Vertical Dial Dial 712
The Bowie Portal Dial is a 48x66 inch vertical dial of frosted glass atop two 15 foot tall steel beams. The dial face has bronze filigreed hour lines, Roman hour numerals and a supported bronze gnomon. The translucent glass allows the dial time to be read from both sides. At ground level the two steel beams are surrounded by steel benches covered in granite and form a portal with the silhouette of playing children cut of brass sheet riveted to the stainless steel base. The 11 foot wide base depicts running horses cut in brass and sits atop a 16 foot diameter compass rose. The base includes a plaque with the EOT.
 
 
Bowie Maryland USA Vertical Dial Dial 372
A small vertical stone dial with a weathered wood gnomon is mounted with iron brackets to the wall of Sacred Heart Chapel. The dial is about 26 inches wide by 16 inches high. The inscribed longitude of 00 deg 20 min East is correct for the United States Prime Meridian which goes approximately up 16th Street in Washington DC. In 1853, fire destroyed everything but the walls of the chapel; it was reconstructed in 1858. The present stone dial is reported to have been made by Francis J. Deutsch, Sr., replacing and duplicating the original. See NASS Compendium Vol. 5, No. 3, Sept., 1998. The whole dial is now covered with white paint and the gnomon which is set at 42? is placed upside down. The wall is 7? SE but the dial was designed for true south.
 
 
Branford Connecticut USA Equatorial Dial Dial 390
This large equatorial dial was created as part of a community effort to establish a Natural Habitat park for the town of Branford. The dial is 7 x 6 x 6 feet made of Stony Creek granite and stainless steel, weighing 13,000 pounds. The granite is indigenous to the town. The face of the stone is cut at approximately 41 degrees to match the site latitude, inspired by a design from Robert Adzema "The Great Sundial Cutout Book". Dial shows time from 7 am until 5 pm.
 
 
Breaux Bridge Louisiana USA Equatorial Dial Dial 992
This is a simple but well designed equatorial dial made of a steel frame and 4-foot diameter aluminum equatorial band. This time band can be loosened from its frame and rotated to an equation of time offset position that's based on solar noon according to dates on a placard fixed to the base. When adjusted, the dial shows time to within a minute. The 10-minute time marks and Arabic hour numbers used vinyl numbers and strips as cover during sand-blasting of the aluminum time band. The vinyl was removed leaving the reflective and polished marks and numbers against the grainy sanded aluminum. (This process was first done on a test piece five years earlier and placed it in direct sunlight - no signs of deterioration or coloring. So this is a relatively easy and permanent alternative to chemical etching). Attention is given to alignment with the base adjusted in azimuth and the dial adjusted with a set of three-point latitude and skew alignment bolts. This dial is an excellent study in functional design. According to the builder, "It was a real fun project. Getting it designed and properly setup was challenging. It has given me a keen appreciation for what it must have taken to build some of the great dials around the world!"
 
 
Bremerton Washington USA Horizontal Dial Dial 1078
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Puget Sound Washington. This cast bronze dial was designed and commissioned by RADM Farenholt for U.S. Naval Hospitals at bases where he was commanding officer, visited, or had special meaning to him. The dial is 18 inches (46cm) in diameter. The outer chapter ring has the motto, followed by a chapter ring with Arabic hours 6am to 6pm, raised hour lines that radiate from near the foot of the gnomon and short half-hour lines. The gnomon has graceful curves and a trefoil cut-out in the center. Below the gnomon is the naval command name, followed by the commissioning date in the southern portion of the hours chapter ring.
 
 
Brentwood Bay British Columbia Canada Horizontal Dial Dial 928
This is simple horizontal sundial with the standard cast bronze dial plate, 12 inches in diameter. The sundial shows local solar time with Roman numerals from V to VII with noon marked as XII. The dial is delineated with marks for the half and quarter hours. The hour lines and gnomon angle are correct for the latitude. The gnomon root is in the center of the circular casting. Radiating out from the center is a compass rose showing the cardinal directions.
 
 
Brighton Colorado USA Equatorial Dial Dial 514
This equatorial dial is one of the more distinctive Erickson Monument dials. It is octagonal about 4 feet across, made of white granite. It has a supporting stainless steel rod as gnomon. Hours from 4am to 8pm with 15 minute divisions. The hours are not rotated for longitude, placing the 12pm hour directly at nadir. Below the sundial is a plaque containing a graph of the equation of time.
 
 
Bristol Connecticut USA Horizontal Dial Dial 178
Horizontal dial designed by Richard R. Bolster. Stone. "Mr. Bolster couldn't find dials to collect so he made his own collection."
 
 
Brooklyn New York USA Vertical Dial Dial 144
10' H x 7' W x 2' D Wood and stainless steel Entitled 'Sundial and Arches'
 
 
Brooklyn New York USA Armillary Sphere Dial 1072
This is a bronze armillary sphere approximate 3 feet (1 m) in diameter with a wide equatorial band decorated on the outside with animals of the zodiac. On the inside are large Roman numerals with marks on the quarter hour. The dial is adjusted for longitude and beneath is a graph of the Equation of Time. The sphere is has the tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn circles for the limits of solar declination and arctic/antarctic circles for 24-hour sunlight. The meridian circle is decorated with arrow spikes. An inscription band circles the stone plinth. The whole dial sets in a plaza designed with a large compass rose.