Stalking the Seaside Sundial

From town center, going west on Hwy 30A, the last Seaside street is Natchez St. (See map or close map.)

Between it and WaterColor is a tiny park with strangely-scaled geometric objects. Going down the path, you meet two that are reminiscent of large classical structures, yet relatively tiny: the step pyramid, and the obelisk. Entering a round hedged area, a third is relatively large: the sundial. The installation includes round markers around the edge for the hours (or ends of the hourlines). The marker XII for noon is the biggest, with a 12-pointed sunburst design.

The circle is about 30 feet in diameter.

A base marks the time, anchoring the shaft of the dial to the ground. The correct wording is the style of the gnomon to the dial center, or origin. from the glossary on this page, http://www.sundialsoc.org.uk/glossary/frameset.htm,

This place reminds me of one in California that drew me, The Gateway of Dreams (El Paso de los Suenos). They are both environmental sculptures, aligned to the sun and thus able to mark time and the seasons. The sundial also reminds me of an Egyptian bird, sacred cat, or superhero, in its skyward lunge. The GPS coordinates are approximately 30:19:18.37N 86:08:30.64W.

See an interactive movie at the March Equinox, 2006. Go back to the Seaside page.