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Interesting Sundials of the World

INTERESTING SUNDIALS OF THE WORLD - The Singing Tower Sundial

SINGING TOWER SUNDIAL
The sundial on the Singing Tower at Lake Wales, Florida, should not be passed by. It is a beautiful sundial in a beautiful setting. Beneath the sundial is a chart by which standard time can be obtained by applying the proper correction to the reading of the sundial. If you have forgotten what day it is, a glance at the position of the shadow of a specific point on the gnomon will tell you. The accompanying photograph is reproduced with the kind permission of the Architectural Record, in which magazine it appeared in first over sixty years ago, in August 1937, together with several drawings of the sundial plate.

EXPLORATION
From time to time the work of sundial enthusiasts is brought to our attention. We have been very interested in one who has made several sundials commemorating certain events of especial significance, such as the total eclipse of the sun which was visible over northern New England where hundreds of thousands witnessed the spectacle. We speak of the Reverend Joseph R. Swain of Connecticut whose latest edition celebrates the ancient polar expeditions of Admiral Richard Byrd. We found a passage, in which he described his own creation for you. "The large panel presents the sun, symbolizing the long polar day when expeditions operate in the field, the regions explored, and the polar plane. The small relief under the gnomon shows the leader of the expeditions using his sextant, and the panels right and left above the numerals show radio towers thus celebrating the means of communication which helped to make the Byrd Expeditions so effective in the field and so continuously interesting and thrilling to the folks back home. The motto: "By Endurance We Conquer", made famous in the annals of polar exploration by the British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton whose leading sledge almost invariably carried this family emblem, has been given new meaning and splendor for Americans by the courage and endurance of Admiral Byrd and his companions. The gnomon symbolizes the polar night, incised circles on the gnomon present the stars of the northern and southern regions and the symbols of four of the great circumpolar constellations: Crux and Argo Navis for the South, Draco and Ursa Minor for the North." Mr. Swain has ably incorporated in his sundial two great epochs in the life of a great man. Truly an interesting sundial of the world, evoking world interest. . . .

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