Santiago Calatrava's pedestrian bridge over the Sacramento River is the centrepiece of Redding. The white steel tower and glass deck are striking in any light, but the bridge was designed to function as a working sundial — on the summer solstice at solar noon, the shadow of the 217-foot pylon falls precisely on the sundial's granite markers. The bridge is free to walk and connects the north and south sections of the Sacramento River Trail. On the south bank, it leads into Turtle Bay Exploration Park.
Sundial Bridge
Calatrava-designed pedestrian bridge that doubles as a working sundial
A story
The shadow cast by the bridge's 217-foot pylon falls precisely on the granite sundial markers below at solar noon on the summer solstice — June 21. On other days the shadow falls slightly off, because the sundial is calibrated for the solstice only. Calatrava insisted on this solar alignment as a condition of the design.