Why There's a Cement Pillar at Cascade Lake in Rochester, MN

If you've been on the path around Cascade Lake you may have noticed a random cement pillar. If you're heading around the path going counter-clockwise you'll find it pretty quickly.

No, it's not actually totally random, there's a reason behind it and it does represent something. Have you ever stopped to read that plaque by it? It's actually a piece of art and each piece, down to the measurements, have meaning.

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The Pillar Sundial at Cascade Lake in Rochester, MN

I was out for a run around Cascade Lake. I had seen this pillar many times before. In fact, I faintly remember hearing about it being installed. But I couldn't quite remember what exactly it stood for.

I stopped by to take a peek and read the plaque again.

While it looks like a bunch of random discs, it's actually called the Pillar Sundial Sculpture and the design is very precise.

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It was created by Rochester artist C. Anthony Huber and is "a large-scale public sculpture that unites material form with the measurement of time."

12 of the 14 discs represent our 12 calendar months, with January being the top disc. The first date of each month is marked with a metal dot. To find an exact date, you'll count to the correct month, then count around that disc (starting at the metal dot) to the correct number of days.

The bottom two discs represent the summer and winter solstices.

But wait, there's more!

Each disc is 24 inches in diameter, which represents the 24 hours in a day. The steel column in the middle is 8 inches, representing the traditional 8 hour workday. AND the stacked height of the 12 discs representing the months total to a height of 365 centimeters, representing the 365 days in a typical calendar year.

Maybe I'm a big nerd, but that's so cool! Someone else must appreciate this with me.