STORY:
Giant Millennium Sundial in Paris

Plans made in 1913 finally come true for 108 foot sundial

Eighty-six years after it was originally proposed, Paris' Place de la Concorde has been transformed into a giant sundial. The French astronomer Camille Flammarion originally planned to mark the pavement of the central Paris square in 1913 to allow passers-by to tell time according to shadows from the 108-foot-high (32-meter) Obelisk.

It's now in place as part of Paris' millennium celebration and will remain operational until the year 2001. Pedestrians can tell time by lining up markings on the pavement with shadows cast by the Obelisk, a gift from Egypt that rises in the center of the Place de la Concorde, where the guillotine of the French Revolution once stood. A chart near the monument helps passers-by translate the shadows into legal time.

According to a story from the Associated Press, other millennium projects for the Place de la Concorde include the renovation of water fountains dating from 1840. Giant pools, basins and marine sculpture flanking the Obelisk will be cleaned up and set into motion in a $2.8 million project.

Source: AP / CNN

DATE: 6/23/99

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