Fairmount Park in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Sundial
1903
| | Alexander Stirling Calder (1870-1945) | |
This Art Nouveau-style sundial sits atop a sculpted limestone base representing the four seasons. Spring holds a rose; Summer carries poppies; Autumn wears grapes in her hair; and Winter has a pine branch. each season foresees the next by turning her head while holding an apple bough aloft, suggesting nature's bounty. The signs of the zodiac surround the bronze dial. The Sundial was given to the park by the Fairmount Park Art Association.
Alexander Stirling Calder, the second of three generations of the famed family of sculptors, is also responsible for the Swann Memorial Fountain and the Shakespeare Memorial, both in Logan Square.
Erected by Museum Without Walls. (Marker Number 201.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music.
Location. 39° 58.987′ N, 75° 12.756′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Fairmount Park. It can be reached from Horticultural Drive west of South Horticultural Drive, on the right. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address:
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Goethe / Schiller (within shouting distance of this marker); Night (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Wrestlers (approx. 0.2 miles away); Giuseppe Verdi (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Journeyer (approx. 0.2 miles away); Schubert (approx. 0.2 miles away); Joseph Haydn / Franz Schubert (approx. 0.2 miles away); Centennial and Concourse Lakes (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.
Photographed by William Pope
3. Sundial Marker
Photographed by William Pope
4. Sundial Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 20, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 439 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 20, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4. submitted on June 1, 2025, by William Pope of Marietta, Pennsylvania.
