Proportion | 3:5 |
---|---|
Adopted | June 5, 1984 |
Design | A horizontal triband of gold (top), white (middle), and blue (bottom), with the Seal of San Jose in the center |
The current flag of San Jose, California features a triband of gold on top, white in the middle, and blue on the bottom with the city's official seal in the center. It has been the official flag since 1984.
A redesign effort in 2016 garnered press coverage in The Mercury News and CBS 5 KPIX, but nothing came of it, with a city spokesman saying it was not one of the city's priorities. [1] [2]
The blue and gold stripes may symbolize the state of California, as they are the state's official colors. The seal of the flag is one unit in diameter, with the entire flag having a 3 unit by 5 unit proportion.
The seal is a black-outlined gold ring with "CITY OF SAN JOSÉ" and "CALIFORNIA" in black block letters, separated by black six-pointed stars. The white space enclosed within the ring consists of a gold wheat sheaf and grapevines tied with a golden bow. The wheat and grapevines symbolize the area's agricultural products, the largest industry in the area prior to the shift towards technological products. Attached below the seal is an oval bearing the text "FOUNDED 1777". The seal was officially adopted on September 9, 1850. [3]
The first flag was designed by city historian Clyde Arbuckle. The flag was a white field with a gold and blue border, with the gold surrounding the blue, and a white border on the very outside of the flag. In the middle of the flag is the city's seal. The text "SAN JOSE’ CALIFORNIA" is above the seal and "FOUNDED 1777" is below. Both of these are in black font. The proportions were 3 by 4.5, and was officially adopted on June 2, 1969. [3]
The second flag saw the removal of the borders and big text, replacing the borders with a triband with the same color scheme and the text was made smaller to surround the seal. This flag was made by both the rules committee and San Jose's Historic Landmark Commission, at the request of the San Jose City Council. The flag's proportions were also increased to 3 by 5. [3] The flag ranked 78th out of 150 American city flags in a 2004 North American Vexillological Association survey. [4]
San Jose's official flag policy mandates that the flag be flown at the city hall, the police administration building, the San Jose Civic, San Jose International Airport, and all fire and police department facilities, in addition to city council chambers and the mayor's office. [5] The San Jose Earthquakes' current away jersey is influenced by the city's flag, featuring the same gold-white-blue triband. [6]
The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of a triband of three equal horizontal stripes colored red, white, and blue, with the arms from the Great Seal of Missouri in the center. Designed by Mary Elizabeth Oliver, the red and white stripes represent valor and purity, respectively. The blue stripe represents the permanency, vigilance, and justice of the state. The three colors also highlight the French influence on the state in its early years. The Missouri flag was established on March 22, 1913, when governor Elliot Woolfolk Major signed the State flag act making it official.
The state flag of the U.S. state of Minnesota consists of a dark blue field representing the night sky and the state's shape, an eight-pointed star representing the North Star, and a bright blue field representing the state's abundant waters; the star is based on one prominently featured in the Minnesota State Capitol rotunda.
The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith, and others. Its membership of 1,100+ comprises flag scholars, enthusiasts, designers, collectors, conservators, educators, merchants, manufacturers, historians, and hobbyists from most states and provinces of the United States and Canada, and more than 30 other countries.
The city flag of Winnipeg was adopted in October 1975. Today, the flag with its crest is used as the official representation of the city for ceremonial and official purposes, while the logo flag is used for promotional purposes.
The city flag of Los Angeles consists of a background of three notched stripes of green, gold and red. The flag was designed by Roy E. Silent and E.S. Jones in 1931 for the Los Angeles sesquicentennial from 1781.
The city flag of Portland, Oregon, consists of a green field on which is placed a white four-pointed star from which radiate blue stripes, each bordered by L-shaped yellow elements (esquarres). Narrow white fimbriations separate the blue and yellow elements from each other and from the green background. The official ordinance specifies a height of 3 feet and a length of 5 feet for the flag.
The flag of Madison, Wisconsin includes a sky blue background with a diagonal white stripe that goes from the bottom left corner to the top right which symbolizes Lake Mendota, Lake Monona and the isthmus between them. At the center of the flag is a black cross, which symbolizes the four lakes, as well as the cross shape of the Wisconsin State Capitol. The gold circle in the middle represents the Wisconsin State Capitol's dome.
The city flag of Birmingham was designed by Idyl King Sorsby for the occasion of the semicentennial of the city of Birmingham in 1921. The flag was officially adopted as the city's flag on August 18, 1925.
The flag of Philadelphia is a blue and yellow triband featuring the Seal of Philadelphia.
The flag of Las Vegas consists of blue field with a diagonal gray stripe running from the top of the hoist to the bottom of the fly. Las Vegas' city seal, adopted on March 16, 1966 and designed by Richard Thompson, is located in the canton breaking the stripe.
The current flag of Billings, Montana is a triband of dark blue and white with the city seal on the central white panel. The seal shows the city skyline line-drawn in blue, with a red disc representing the sun. The seal is outlined in blue with the text "Star of the Big Sky Country" in red capitals. It was designed by Fernando Méndez and adopted in June 1986.
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 flag of Charlottetown is the official municipal flag of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was designed by Robert D. Watt.
The city flag of San Antonio, Texas was originally drawn by Spanish–American War veteran William W. Herring on May 28, 1933. The design saw significantly more usage than the official flag, but was never officially adopted until 1976. The current flag is a slightly modified version of Herring's design, most notably removing the text formerly displayed.
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 flag of Charlotte, North Carolina was adopted in 1929 and consists of a white saltire on a blue field, with the city seal in the center. A secondary flag, with a green field and a white crown in the center, was introduced in 1985 and is primarily used at city government buildings. Charlotte is one of the few places to have two official flags with equal status. The government of Mecklenburg County, while having its own flag, has made use of the 1985 flag at official events.
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.
The current city flag of El Paso, Texas is an augmentation of the city's seal in the center of a dark blue field, which has been in place since 1962.
The flag of Saint Paul is the official municipal flag of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Adopted via a 1932 competition, the current flag is a yellow-blue-yellow horizontal triband. A red shield depicting various aspects of St. Paul's industry and history is in the foreground and a red ribbon reading "SAINT PAUL" in yellow font below the shield.
The flag of Raleigh is the official municipal flag of Raleigh, North Carolina. It is one of the few American city flags to currently feature different designs on the obverse and reverse. Both sides feature a similar red-white-red vertical triband with an emblem in the center. The obverse features the Seal of Raleigh. The reverse has a modified version of the coat of arms of Sir Walter Raleigh.