It was the fifth artwork installed in the park and was designed by sculptor C. Paul Jennewein, whose other works in the city include the Darlington Memorial Fountain and 57 sculptural elements at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

It rests on a granite pedestal designed by Horace Peaslee, an architect who oversaw construction of Meridian Hill Park.

Jennewein completed his design of the sculpture in 1931 and a bill accepting it on behalf of the United States was signed into law by President Herbert Hoover the following year.

After the sphere was founded by the Roman Bronze Works company, it remained in New York because of delays in installing the foundation.

It was built between 1914 and 1936 as part of the City Beautiful movement and at the behest of Mary Foote Henderson, an activist and real estate developer whose mansion overlooked the park.

Due to a limited budget, Jennewein's suggestion that the bronze sculpture be fire gilded and "burnished to a bright color" did not occur.

[2][12] In December 1933, CFA members traveled to Brooklyn to assess the sculpture's progress at the Roman Bronze Works company.

[3][9][17] A bronze calibration plaque, located on a cast iron post by the sphere, was later installed to correct errors with time precision.

[1] Decorative armillary spheres were added on top of the wrought-iron fence located on the north end of the park.

[9] The putto, calibration plaque, and pedestal were designated contributing properties to Meridian Hill Park's listing as a National Historic Landmark.

[1][8] In 1985, the Historic American Buildings Survey program released a report on Meridian Hill Park, which included details of the missing sphere.

In the 1990s, NPS official John Parsons offered support for a replica "on its original base to the exact historic scale, design, and specifications".

[19][20] Based on original drawings and photographs of the sphere, Kreilick Conservation LLC used techniques including computer numerical control and 3D modeling to create a replica.

A gnomon arrow that is facing north represents the Earth's axis and casts a shadow on the equatorial ring, allowing visitors to know the local time.