Columbia University sundial, Historic sundial at Columbia University campus, United States.
The Columbia University sundial is a stone platform featuring brass inserts that display time markers for different hours, positioned at the center of College Walk. The design uses sunlight to indicate time, with brass plates marking specific dates throughout the year.
The sundial was created in 1914 by astronomy professor Harold Jacoby and the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White. Its original design featured a 16-ton granite sphere as the shadow-casting element.
The platform has served as a meeting place for student gatherings, protests, and commemorative events since the 1960s. Students continue to use this spot as a natural focal point for coming together.
The shadow accurately shows the time only at noon when it aligns with the brass plates. Visit on sunny days to see the shadow clearly and understand how the mechanism works.
The pedestal bears a Latin inscription reading 'Horam Expecta Veniet', a poetic message about the passage of time. The original granite sphere that once cast the shadow now rests in a field near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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