 | |
| Use | Civil flag  |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 5:8 |
| Adopted | May 7, 1924 |
| Design | The city seal with 13 lightning bolts and stars on a blue background. |
| Designed by | Louis Greenstein |
The flag of Buffalo, New York is a navy blue flag that contains a large central emblem consisting of the city seal with 13 "electric flashes" (depicted as lightning bolts) and interspaced 5-pointed white stars emanating from it.
Following a request from New York City publisher, the Julius Bien Company, to provide a copy of the banner graphic for a work depicting the flags of large municipalities, Mayor Louis P. Fuhrmann and Commissioner of Public Works, Francis G. Ward, proposed a design. The city's first flag was composed of the city seal superimposed on the state coat-of-arms in blue over a buff-colored background.
From Common Council Proceedings, June 3, 1912:
To the left center a lighthouse on pier with ship passing it into harbor. To the lower right canal boat passing into canal to the right surrounded in circle by the legend "City of Buffalo, Incorporated 1832."
The municipalities of the United States having as a rule a Municipal Flag, examinination shows the general practice to be the use of the Coat of Arms of the City or the Coat of Arms of the State upon which is superimposed the seal of the City.
In accordance with the latter rule we submit as a design for the Municipal Flag of the City of Buffalo, the following:
"The Coat of Arms of the State of New York with the Seal of the City of Buffalo superimposed upon the shield of the same all in blue upon the field of the flag in Continental buff."
(Despite the assertion above, no such "general practice" of superimposing city seals over state seals has been documented. [1] )
Though the Common Council passed an ordinance describing the official seal of the city and its flag, the seal described was not the one included on the banner. At the time there were several seals being used by various city officials. The seal depicted on the flag was actually the seal being used by the Mayor. There are a few differences, the most glaring being the legend surrounding the circle says "Seal of the City of Buffalo" instead of "City of Buffalo, Incorporated 1832." The Mayoral seal also depicts two mules, nonexistent in the Common Council version, pulling the canal boat in the opposite direction described by the council. The large ship and the pier are also completely different.
In 1922, mayor Frank X. Schwab remarked to the Common Council that the flag did not sufficiently represent the city and proposed a contest for a new flag. After the contest failed to produce a winning design, a new contest was proposed with a more substantial reward. Seventy-three designs were submitted and the City Planning Committee with input from the Fine Arts Academy selected the new flag based on its simplicity and distinctiveness. The $250 reward was given to local architect Louis Greenstein. The flag was adopted on May 7, 1924, and dedicated to the city on the following Flag Day, June 14, 1924.
Louis Greenstein's home still stands today at 64 Tudor Place and Cleveland across from Nardin Academy.
The city flag is meant to illustrate the energy and zeal behind the spirit of Buffalo. According to then Mayor Frank X. Schwab, it signifies the love and admiration which Buffalonians have for their city.
The thirteen stars signify New York's status as one of the original Thirteen Colonies. The matching number of electric flashes celebrate Buffalo as one of the first cities to deploy electric service widely. [1] The seal in the center contains a lighthouse and a boat, representing Buffalo's important spot as a trade center on Lake Erie and the Erie Canal. [2]
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians. The Erie Canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, the westward expansion of the United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York state. It has been called "The Nation's First Superhighway."
The flag of the state of Michigan is a coat of arms set on a dark blue field, as set forth by Michigan state law. The governor has a variant of the flag with a white field instead of blue one. The state has an official flag month from June 14 through July 14.
The coat of arms of the state of New Jersey includes:
The flag of Delaware consists of a buff-colored diamond on a field of colonial blue, with the coat of arms of the state of Delaware inside the diamond. Below the diamond, the date December 7, 1787, declares the day on which Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution. The colors of the flag reflect the colors of the uniform of General George Washington.
The city of Kraków uses a coat of arms, a seal, official colors, a flag, and a banner as its official symbols. Additionally, a number of semi-official and unofficial symbols of the city are also used.
Buff is a light brownish yellow, ochreous colour, typical of buff leather. Buff is a mixture of yellow ochre and white: two parts of white lead and one part of yellow ochre produces a good buff, or white lead may be tinted with French ochre alone.
The seal of New York City is the city's official corporate insignia. According to the city's Administrative Code, it is used to identify documents or publications issued under the authority of the city or its departments. It is also engraved into property owned by the city, used to identify officers of the city, and featured on the city's flag.
The coat of arms of Cape Town is the traditional symbol of the municipality of Cape Town. The original arms from the 20th century are no longer in official use, though no new arms have yet been adopted.
The municipal seal of Buffalo is the official seal of the City of Buffalo, United States. The seal contains a historic depiction of Buffalo harbor surrounded by the legend, "Seal of the City of Buffalo."
The flag of Houston, Texas consists of a large white five-pointed star on a blue background with the city's seal set within the star. The flag was adopted in 1915.
The coat of arms of Samoa takes its inspiration from the United Nations, as New Zealand administered Western Samoa first as a League of Nations Mandate and then as a United Nations trusteeship until the country received its independence on 1 January 1962, as Western Samoa. Samoa was the first Polynesian nation to reestablish independence in the 20th century. The background is cross-hatched with a grid like the United Nations arms, most of the other elements are duplicated on the national flag.
Unity Island is an approximately 160-acre (0.65 km2) island separating the Niagara River and the Black Rock Canal, located within the city limits of Buffalo, New York. The historic island is home to two public parks and a water treatment facility. It is connected to the mainland by a two-span swing bridge.
The coat of arms of Albany, New York, is the heraldic symbol representing the city of Albany, the capital of the U.S. state of New York. The coat of arms is rarely seen by itself; it is almost always used in the city seal or on the city flag. The current coat of arms was adopted in 1789, although prior to that it was significantly simpler, ranging from stylized lettering to a caricature of a beaver. Included in the coat of arms are references to Albany's agricultural and fur-trading past. It is supported by a white man and an American Indian and is crested by a sloop. The coat of arms is meant to represent the "symbols of industry and its rewards to man and beast on land and sea".
The coats of arms of the U.S. states are coats of arms, that are an official symbol of the state, alongside their seal. Eighteen states have officially adopted coats of arms. The former independent Republic of Texas and Kingdom of Hawaii each had a separate national coat of arms, which are no longer used.
The coat of arms of the City of London Corporation is the official coat of arms granted to the City of London Corporation. The Corporation governs the City of London, one of the 33 administrative areas within Greater London, England.
Greater London does not currently have an official flag to represent the region. However, the current Greater London Authority and predecessor bodies have historically flown and used many flags and symbols.
Historical coats of arms of the U.S. states date back to the admission of the first states to the Union. Despite the widely accepted practice of determining early statehood from the date of ratification of the United States Constitution, many of the original colonies referred to themselves as states shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July 1776. Committees of political leaders and intellectuals were established by state legislatures to research and propose a seal and coat of arms. Many of these members were signers of the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, and United States Constitution. Several of the earliest adopted state coats of arms and seals were similar or identical to their colonial counterparts.
The city flag of Knoxville, Tennessee was officially adopted by municipal ordinance on October 16, 1896. It is the third oldest official city flag in the United States and the oldest flag of any state or city governmental entity in Tennessee.
The city flag of Austin, Texas consists of a white field with the seal of Austin without the surrounding circle of text. Below the seal of Austin is the text "CITY OF AUSTIN", written in blue and arched upwards.
The current city flag of Columbus, Ohio is a yellow-white-red vertical triband with the city seal on a blue field. Officially, the flag was adopted in 1929, although it is unknown if the flag was ever flown when it was first adopted.
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