If you’ve been to the old Riverside Public Library, or, more recently, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, you may have seen the large, metal sundial near the Chinese Pavilion. That sundial was designed, built, and donated to the city by a very civic-minded resident who felt that Riverside was the best place he’d ever lived.
The man’s name was Imre Kalincsak, and he was born Aug. 5, 1933 in Hungary. While in the Hungarian army in the 1950s, he and a friend plotted their escape from communism and simply put down their rifles and walked across the border to Austria. From there, Kalincsak went to Switzerland where he learned the watch trade. Eager to find a job, he signed on with an American company that was opening a facility in Cuba, only to be turned away due to the Cuban missile crisis. Kalincsak instead came to the United States and eventually found his way to Riverside, where he found a job in a watch shop. Eventually, he owned and operated the Swiss Clock Shop on Van Buren Boulevard in Arlington.
Kalincsak had seen a lot in life, but found Riverside was the most welcoming place he’d been. He wanted to give back to the community, so, in 1965, he proposed to design and construct an unusual sundial that could be placed in front of what was then the new library building downtown.
His proposal, though, was no ordinary instrument. In addition to telling time (both true solar time and time of day), Kalincsak’s sundial would also tell the position of the sun in relation to the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, the day and month of the year, and which sign of the zodiac is prevalent.
It is a highly-crafted instrument that was said to take Kalincsak nearly 3,000 hours of work to build over three years. Kalincsak meant for it to be a gift to the city that helped him so much since coming here in 1961.
On Feb. 20, 1968, the large sundial, weighing over 1,000 pounds, was dedicated in a ceremony attended by the City Council, Kalincsak, and others who had come together to build the base it would sit on. A plaque next to the sundial indicates it was designed, built, and donated by Kalincsak.
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In horological circles, the sundial appears to be well-known. There was a detailed article about it in the April 1969 edition of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, and partly because of this, Kalincsak was awarded a medal for being a master in measuring time by the British Horological Institute in 1972.
Riversiders should be proud of this gift to the city. If you are downtown, stop and take a look at it and consider the time and effort that went into this instrument.
If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@gmail.com.
