Dedication of the granite ball on the Sundial, 1914. Photo:
Facets 2002-03.
From the Columbiana
Archive: "Columbia's fourth home. A view looking south from Low Library in
the 1920s found John Jay Hall, far left still under construction, with the
7-foot diameter [granite] ball of the sundial perched on its pedestal. Cars
travelled across West 116th Street, as College Walk was known then, until the
block between Broadway and Amsterdam was closed to traffic in 1954. The
[granite ball was removed from the Sundial] in 1946 after it had cracked. Only
its base remains today." Note the baseball players on South Field
(maybe Lou Gehrig is among them) and the
view straight through to West 114th Street -- No Butler Library (South Hall),
no Ferris Booth or Lerner Hall...
