Sundials of North America

This is a listing of sundials in the North American Sundial Society Registry. The ordering can be changed using the box above. Or you can search for a dial by number, city, state/province, or type. You can also find sundials in a particular state/province by clicking on the right-column list of state/province names.

Click on the dial photo or city name to see the full sundial details

Nashville Tennessee USA Polyhedral Dial 1051
The dial is overgrown with lichen and stained with dirt. Underneath this rather shabby exterior is a fine polyhedral sundial with ten hemispherical dials arranged in a dodecahedron. Each dial is 8-in (20cm) in diameter fitted with a quarter-inch thick bronze gnomon. The gnomons are set in a common direction for the North Celestial Pole of approxi...
Nashville Tennessee USA Horizontal Dial 1052
A hexagonal shaped brass dial 9.5 inches (24cm) . Gnomon appears set for 34 deg and is bent to one side. The dial plate is marked in 15 minute intervals with Roman numeral hour marks. The dial is heavily corroded. Dial sets on cylindrical limestone pedestal with a hexagonal cornice top.
Nashville Tennessee USA Armillary Sphere 1053
A brass armillary sphere 3.5 feet (1.1m) in diameter with plates holding Roman numerals for each hour from 6am to 6pm. The outside of the equatorial band contains frieze symbols of the zodiac. The dial rests on a globe of stars. Limestone and cement plinth.
Newark New Jersey USA Analemmatic Dial 1054
An elliptical analemmatic sundial done in a circular motif representing the sun. Dial is in colored concrete and the Zodiac walkway is a series of circles with the month's number. The time is properly marked on the ellipse with a circular marker, but the hour number is at the end of the sun's "flames" on the circumference of a large circle contai...
Hermitage Tennessee USA Horizontal Dial 1055
The gnomon consists of two complete horizontal stabilizer wings from a Boeing 727 jet, arranged in a sculpture called "Clear for Landing". The dial is 72 feet (22m) in diameter. The hour markers are Roman numerals in granite stone blocks. The hour lines were laid out using a scale model mounted on a heliodon and set for the summer solstice. The...
Yucaipa California USA Polar Dial 1056
This polar dial on a plate 24 inches wide by 14.5 inches tall (61 x 37 cm) and is on a stand about 50 inches (127cm) high. Shows both Pacific Standard (7AM - 5PM) and Daylight Saving Time with hour marks only. Sun motif in the center below a long gnomon.
Nashville Tennessee USA Horizontal Dial 1057
Bronze 14 inch (36cm) horizontal dial. Arabic numerals mark hours with half and quarter hour marks. A simple solid triangular gnomon, set to 35 deg. On the pedestal there is a hand with a pointing finger, showing the way to the grave site of James Robertson and Dr. Felix Robertson, his son.
Nashville Tennessee USA Horizontal Dial 1058
Bronze horizontal dial, 14" (36 cm) diameter. Plain gnomon with hole in it, set to 37 deg. Hour lines with half and quarter hour marks. Arabic numbers mark the hours from 5Am to 7PM. Dial was originally erected in Centennial Park to commemorate one of Nashville's founders. Later moved to his grave site.
Nashville Tennessee USA Equatorial Dial 1059
30 inch (76cm) black iron armillary sphere. Roman numerals mark the hours. Gnomon is a classic rod and arrow motif. Sits on a brick pedestal.
Jackson Mississippi USA Armillary Sphere 1061
This is a copper armillary sphere about 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter. It has a traditional gnomon rod and arrow motif. The equatorial ring has both standard (6AM to 6PM) and daylight saving time hour marks in Arabic numerals. Noon is centered, showing local mean solar time. On the base is a graphic Equation of Time curve to correct to civil tim...
Woodland Hills California USA Horizontal Dial 1062
This is a simple, but elegant horizontal dial. A large gnomon pointer sits on a trapezoidal pedestal, creating a large horizontal dial. Surrounding it on a concrete plaza are circular hour marks with standard and daylight saving time.
Richmond Hill Ontario Canada Horizontal Dial 1063
Weathered Bronze/Copper horizontal dial approx. 18 inches (47cm) square. Hour lines in a square chapter ring extends from 4:30am to 7:30pm in 10 minute intervals, including a noon-gap for the width of the gnomon. Hour marks are in Arabic numerals. At the center is a simple compass rose pointing to the four cardinal points. On the southern portion...
Berkeley California USA Horizontal 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.
Janesville Wisconsin USA Analemmatic Dial 1065
This 21 ft x 16 ft (7m x 5m) analemmatic sundial has a landscaped area with seating and a stone pier that holds a bronze dedication plaque and a bronze information plaque with a QR code for additional online information. The central zodiac walkway is a 2,500 pound pre-cast concrete slab that includes images of regional plants and animals next to t...
Milwaukee Wisconsin USA Analemmatic Dial 1066
A large analemmatic ("human") sundial with bronze zodiac walkway and Arabic hour numbers. The dial also has a simple 4-point compass rose. The Horticulturalists had asked that an area of interest be created in the paved area in front of the school bus load zone. A durable and permanent solution was requested which resulted in the analemmatic dial ...
Edmonton Alberta Canada Horizontal Dial 1067
This horizontal sundial has a steel gnomon and extended rod to cast shadows onto a large, circular dial plaza 18m in diameter. The plaza has inlaid bronze cardinal markers, hour line separations in the concrete, and bronze inlaid Roman numerals from 5AM to 10PM. Wild roses, the official flower of Alberta, are planted in the center of the plaza su...
White Plains New York USA Vertical Dial 1068
This vertical dial is a "super ellipse" 36 x 12 inches (92 x61 cm). It is made of dark slate 1.2 inches (3 cm) thick with a stainless steel backing. Hour lines are in grey, radiating from a gilt flaming sunburst. With the dial declining 7 deg to east, Roman hour marks in gilt range 6AM to 5PM (noon is absent for a crest), with dots for half hours...
Nashville Tennessee USA Armillary Sphere 1069
This armillary sphere is based on a Chinese design with an equatorial ring containing Arabic hour marks but the meridian ring exists only below a longitudinal ring set to the dial's latitude. The dial presents Tennessee's identity and is dedicated to the school children of Tennessee. 4 copper columns support the dial, honoring the Greek and Roman t...
Mendota Heights Minnesota USA Horizontal Dial 1070
This brass horizontal sundial was donated to the school in or around 1908 by the Visitation School class of 1908. It was moved from St. Paul MN to Mendota Heights, MN in 1966 when the school was relocated. In the spring of 2018 it was moved to a protected garden, but sits on the original 1908 pedestal 3 foot (1m) tall and 18 inches (46cm) square....
Hilton Head South Carolina USA Horizontal Dial 1071
A self-proclaimed "World's Largest Figurative Sundial" centers on a 12 foot (3.6m), 3000 pound (1360 kg) statue of Neptune. His trident, set at an angle of 32 degrees, serves as the gnomon. This massive structure sits on a low dais 26 feet (8m) in diameter, surrounded by low octagonal steps. Neptune is an impressive sculpture by Wayne Edwards. ...
Brooklyn New York USA Armillary Sphere 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...
Boston Massachusetts USA Sculpture or Artwork 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 numer...
Spokane Washington USA Horizontal Dial 1074
The stone dial is approximately 24 inches (61 cm) in diameter with a large brass gnomon whose foot is considerably offset to the south. Simple hour lines with Arabic numbers from 7am to 5pm facing outward. The dial is approximately 2 inches (5 cm) thick with a band for inscription directly below. All this sits on a 12-sided pedestal of slightly ...
Lombard Illinois USA Horizontal Dial 1075
Classic black cast iron sundial 9.5 inches (24 cm) in diameter. Chapter ring with Roman numerals 5am - 7pm. Delineated with notches every fifteen minutes. Cast iron gnomon with bird interior, painted as brass. No noon gap for the half-inch (1.25 cm) thick gnomon. The original red oak wood pedestal was rebuilt in the summer of 2022. For added dur...
Mare Island California USA Horizontal Dial 1076
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Mare Island. Cast bronze, 18 inch (46 cm) diameter circular face, mounted on a cement pedestal 40 inches tall. Only three Farenholt sundials are known to have Spanish mottos: Mare Island is one of them. (Sunnyvale, CA and Hawthorne, NV are the others). We notice other difference from the classic Farenholt ...
Newport Rhode Island USA Horizontal Dial 1077
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Newport Rhode Island. 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 w...
Bremerton Washington USA Horizontal 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...
San Diego California USA Horizontal Dial 1079
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital San Diego California. 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 w...
Hawthorne Nevada USA Horizontal Dial 1080
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot Hawthorne Nevada. 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 ri...
Sunnyvale California USA Horizontal Dial 1081
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Air Station Sunnyvale CA. 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 A...
Portsmouth New Hampshire USA Horizontal Dial 1082
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Portsmouth New Hampshire. 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 ri...
Corpus Christi Texas USA Horizontal Dial 1083
Farenholt sundial for U.S. Naval Hospital Corpus Christi Texas. 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 w...
Ann Arbor Michigan USA Horizontal Dial 1084
This is a large monumental scale horizontal sundial. The gnomon, approximately 15-ft (4.5m) high has a brass patina and made using polygonal segments assembled almost in jigsaw puzzle style to form a large triangle. The gnomon sits at the north end of a large 30-ft (9.1m) brick plaza, wasting the area of the plaza except for a large imbedded bras...
Ann Arbor Michigan USA Cylindrical Dial 1085
The dial is inscribed on a 20-ft (6m) diameter stairwell creating a very large cylindrical altitude sundial. The nodus is the center of the skylight directly above the circular stair well. Hours are marked at the top of the dial in Arabic numerals. Hour lines are a series of dots extending down the wall. A display near the dial explains how it ...
Ypsilanti Michigan USA Horizontal Dial 1086
This is the original horizontal dial and gnomon of 1909, cast in iron as a gift from the Class of 1908 (then known as the Michigan State Normal School ). This sundial was originally located on the west side of the sidewalk coming from the main south entrance of Serzer Observatory on the Eastern Michigan University campus, now the location of the EM...
Ann Arbor Michigan USA Horizontal Dial 1087
This horizontal brass dial is 16-inch (40.6cm) in diameter. A chapter ring holds hours marks in Roman numerals from 4am to 8pm, and includes 10 minute marks at the outer edge of the ring. The dial is plain with no inscription. The gnomon is broken off at the face of the dial. The dial is a placed on an irregular stone mount with two concrete blo...
Ann Arbor Michigan USA Noon Mark or Meridian Dial 1088
Dial is a calendar dial that marks noon on the solstices and equinoxes by projecting a circle of sunlight onto one of three horizontal discs on the meridian line dial face. To create the round sunlight spots the vertical arm has three elliptical holes to match the solar angles for the two solstices and the equinox. The disk closest to the gnomon ...
Addison Texas USA Sun Alignment 1089
This is a sun alignment arch about 23 feet (7m) high and 650 feet (20m) in length and 5 foot (1.5m) wide, It is made of Corten steel, a metal whose surface oxidizes quickly, leaving a rusty chocolate color that provides a textured surface. The archAt the top of the arch are keystone wedges that funnel sunlight on the equinox at local solar noon o...
Honolulu Hawaii USA Sun Alignment 1090
"Sky Gate" is a huge 24 foot (7.3m) undulating sculpture of black metal is known as one of Honolulu's most distinctive pieces of public art. There is a hidden astronomical alignment. On zenith days (~28 May and ~18 July) when the sun is directly overhead at the zenith at the moment of local solar noon, the shadow of the sculpture forms a perfect,...
Jersey City New Jersey USA Equatorial Dial 1091
The equatorial sundial is a classic "bow string" sundial using a thin rod with a nodus to tell both time and date. The nodus is a small disk with a hole in the center to let a beam of sunlight fall near the noon hour line on the equatorial ring. The equatorial ring (a semi-circle) as the rest of the dial is stainless steel, The dial is 12 feet (4m...
Georgetown Texas USA Equatorial Dial 1092
A brilliant equatorial dial, constructed of stainless steel, aluminum, and gold-plated brass. Scales for local apparent time, Central Standard time, and Central Daylight time where the Equation of Time on a plaque fixed to the meridian circle. Dial mounting incorporates a unique gimbal to allow precise adjustment of N-S alignment and a meridian ri...
Oxford Michigan USA Armillary Sphere 1093
This is an armillary of unusual construction, mostly of nicely prepared wood. The base has three legs set out at 120°, holding horizon ring approximately 1m (39 inches) in diameter. An adjustable meridian ring for any latitude holds a brass polar axis rod and a cylinder for reading various time scales. The horizon ring has azimuths marked at eve...
Southampton Ontario Canada Horizontal Dial 1094
A simple horizontal dial marked with solar hours, unusual in having a reflective chrome coating of the entire dial (in some spots the chrome has flaked off where the underlying material has started to rust). The gnomon is a triangular vane with a pattern of round holes pierced though it. The dial face is approximately 20" (50cm) square and wraps do...
Woodland California USA Polar Dial 1095
It is a polar dial using a rod gnomon. Using a template from Shadows software, the dial is made of handmade ceramic tiles mounted on an aluminum bar frame anchored to a concrete base. Brass borders define winter and summer solstice declination lines, and an aluminum bar defines the E-W equinox declination. Copper analemmas define the sun’s annual...
Ann Arbor Michigan USA Noon Mark or Meridian Dial 1096
Dial is a calendar dial that marks noon on the solstices and equinoxes by projecting a circle of sunlight onto one of three horizontal discs on the meridian line dial face. To create the round sunlight spots the vertical arm has three elliptical holes to match the solar angles for the two solstices and the equinox. The disk closest to the gnomon (w...
Dedham Massachusetts USA Horizontal Dial 1097
This is one of John Garret Thew's mass produced "digital sundials" patented on April 5, 1960. The dial casts a numeral onto the dial's central plate that accommodates beams of sunlight and shadow from winter to summer solstice. The numerals (corrected for the hour angle distortion) slowly move across the dial's plate and the hour is read at the m...
Pella Iowa USA Armillary Sphere 1098
An elegant armillary sphere approximately 8 ft (2.5m) tall. Painted black with gold Roman numerals for the hour marks. On the outside of the equatorial ring at each hour are embossed zodiac figures The gnomon is a traditional arrow with gold tip and feather. The dial has traditional arctic and antarctic rings.
Vancouver British Columbia Canada Horizontal Dial 1099
This is intended to be a horizontal sundial, but positioned poorly and viewed by nearly no one.. The chapter ring is marked out in Roman numerals running from V (am) to IV (pm) on a large semi-circular arc of open metalwork supported by a trellis structure. It is very large, about 40 meters across. The gnomon is a separate structure and is not posi...
Halifax Nova Scotia Canada Horizontal Dial 1100
A bronze horizontal dial 36cm (14 in) in diameter with chapter ring of Roman numeral hours from V (am) to VII (pm). Hours are delineated in quarter hours and extend from 4am to 8pm (unmarked). Noon is designated by an "O". Gnomon has the inset profile of a bird. At south is father time with a scythe. The conglomerate pedestal is slowly disint...