Need to Know What Time It Is? 6 Places to Find a Sundial Around DC.

These days, you probably aren’t going to consult a sundial. But the ancient time-telling devices are all over DC, and we were curious to learn more about them.

1. National Cathedral

Dedicated in 1905, the Washington National Cathedral Landmark Memorial Sundial and Altar was one of the first signs of the coming cathedral project. (Construction of the building would begin two years later.) It has a noon cross marker and a bronze plate inscribed with major Christian holidays.

2. Howard University

“The Dial,” as Howard’s sundial is known, rests in the center of the main campus quad. Designed by architect Ralph A. Vaughn, it was dedicated in 1929 in honor of Benjamin Banneker and includes the inscription “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.”

3. Georgetown Waterfront

Located on 30th St., this sundial was constructed around 1985. The 16-foot-diameter piece has a five-foot-long green gnomon and sizable Roman numerals. It’s currently covered by a temporary art installation, but visitors will be able to check it out again later this year.

4. Tudor Place

Hidden in a garden on the grounds of this Georgetown estate is a brass sundial that likely dates to the 18th century. It’s believed to have come from Scotland’s Crossbasket Castle–the ancestral home of the house’s original owners.

5. Smithsonian Castle

On the south side of the building sits the Enid A. Haupt Garden sundial. Acquired in 1993, it features an ornate compass rose with Roman numerals encircling it.

6. Montrose Park

The Sarah Rittenhouse Armillary Sphere, located in this Georgetown park, was dedicated in 1956. It’s a memorial to Rittenhouse, who saved the land from development in the early 1900s. The large bronze piece is composed of equatorial, meridian, and zodiac rings.

This article appears in the July 2025 issue of Washingtonian.

Rachel Kester