2. Camp Columbia, Abrams Plaza, Columbia University

“Camp Columbia” is currently the only (official) sundial on the Columbia University campus. It’s more popular counterpart though, has since been lost from campus. Considered a university landmark, an original 16-ton granite sphere was donated by an alumni in 1914 and it occupied a central hub of Columbia’s campus. While a campus fixture, the sundial’s granite began to crack and disintegrate leading to its removal, although the base is still there.

Many assumed the sphere had been destroyed but, almost 60 years later, in 2001, the sundial resurfaced in a field of Ann Arbor that may or may not have belonged to an individual with university affiliations. The current sundial has a less exalted history, with sculptor unknown. The story behind what happened to the original sundial remains somewhat mysterious and the base remains on campus, engraved with the words Horam Expecta Veniet or await this hour, time will come.