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| Adopted | July 1, 1930 |
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| Designed by | F. Grant Whitney |
 | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Citations and encyclopedic grammar needed.(November 2024) |
The city flag of Tampa, Florida was adopted by the city on July 1, 1930. The many pieces of the unique flag portray the various elements that made the city itself a success. [1] The flag is one of the few non-quadrilateral flags in use.
Although Tampa was named in 1849, it took almost 100 years for a flag to be created. [2] Mayor D.B. McKay introduced the design to the city's multi-national heritage. In turn he presented the banner to the board of Representatives and recommended that it be adopted as the official flag. On July 1, 1930, the board adopted the flag from its designer F. Grant Whitney. [1]
The colors are inspired by the national flags of the immigrants who settled the area: France, Great Britain, and the United States (red, white and blue); Italy (green, white, and red); and Spain (red and yellow). [3] The gold and red striped section is supposed to represent the flag of Spain who had a large part in both Tampa and Florida’s history with the Spanish exploration. [1] In the flag, the state recognized the British contribution to the city with the red, white chevron like stripes that are supposed to represent two of the three aspects that make up the British Union “portions of the Crosses of St. Andrew and St. George”. [1] [ further explanation needed ]
The red, white, blue, and stars depict the United States of America, which bought the state in 1821. [1] The red, white, and blue on the left side of the flag is a representation of the French flag. The tip of the flag, which is red and green and has a single white star, portrays the Italian flag. Both countries “had an influence on the culture and heritage” of the city of Tampa and creator Whitney wanted to incorporate the many immigrants who helped the city grow and thrive. [2] “Fort Brooke was established and, in 1834, the Territorial Legislature created Hillsborough County, which is symbolized by a stylized "H"”. [2] The letter “H” is creatively disguised and made up of the representations of the flags of France and Spain with the blue line that forms the large “T” which is turned sideways. This “T” is much more visible to the eye and stands for the city's name: Tampa. “The City Seal of Tampa is featured over the white, gold and red stripes. The seal notes that the City of Tampa was organized in 1887. Tampa was incorporated as a village in 1849, as a town in 1855, and as a city in 1887.” [2]
With Tampa holding its annual Gasparilla pirate parade, many think the ship in the center of the flag is a reference to pirates; however, the ship bearing the three masts with two sails apiece is surprisingly supposed to be a rendition of the man who helped the more isolated city of Tampa flourish, Henry B. Plant. Incorporating Plant's ship, the Mascotte, was important, as “The significant contributions to the development of Florida and Tampa Bay are why Success magazine dubbed Henry Plant “the King of Florida” in 1898.” [4]
The unique shape of the flag recalls that of an obsolete calvalry guidon once used in the United Kingdom, the chamfered swallowtail. Albeit, the double indentations on the end render it a double swallowtail, a chamfered double swallowtail.
Since at least 2017, the city of Tampa flag has been criticized and ridiculed, even to the point of making the ranks of "the ugliest city flags on Earth," for “trying too hard”. Another website thinks “This flag would make a great beach towel for tourists or a colorful cape for a Floridian superhero.” [5] Most Tampa natives don't even know they have a flag, and those who do are in favor of having it changed. “Out of the 224 people who had taken a survey on tampaflag.com of last week, 92 percent said they supported changing it.” [6] The dislike of the flag even has an online petition on change.org calling for a newly designed flag for the growing city of Tampa. Although most are in favor of changing the flag or completely redesigning it there is worry that people who have lived in the Tampa Bay area for generations could be upset to let it go. With all of the history and meaning the flag encapsulates, any new flag will need to be sure to capture both the history and essence of Tampa. [6]
A flag is a piece of fabric with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging. Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin vexillum, meaning "flag" or "banner".
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Tampa is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough County. With an estimated population of 403,364 in 2023, Tampa is the 49th-most populous city in the country and the third-most populous city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami.
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The Lone Star Flag is the official flag of the U.S. state of Texas. The flag, flown at homes and businesses statewide, is highly popular among Texans and is treated with a great degree of reverence and esteem within Texas. Along with the flag of Hawaii, it is one of two state flags to have previously served as a national flag of an independent country. In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the Texas flag second, behind New Mexico.
The national flag of Tunisia is a rectangular panel of red color with an aspect ratio of 2:3. In the center of the cloth in a white circle is placed a red crescent, surrounding a red five-pointed star on three sides. The Tunisian Bey Hussein II decided to create a flag for Tunisia, close in appearance to the modern one, after the Battle of Navarino on 20 October 1827; in 1831 he was officially approved. In that form, the flag existed during the French protectorate, and on 1 June 1959, it was proclaimed the state flag of the Republic of Tunisia. On 30 June 1999, the proportions and design of the flag were clarified by a special law. The general appearance of the flag remained virtually unchanged.
The Ohio Burgee is the official flag of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a distinctive triangular swallowtail flag. Its red, white, and blue elements symbolize the state's natural features and order of admission into the Union. A prominent disc in the flag's triangular canton is suggestive of the state's name. The flag was adopted in 1902.
The national flag of Cuba consists of five alternating stripes and a cherry red chevron at the hoist, within which is a white five-pointed star. It was designed in 1849 and officially adopted May 20, 1902. The flag is referred to as the Estrella Solitaria, or the Lone Star flag. It is in the stars and stripes flag family.
The national flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow, blue and red, was first adopted by law in 1835 and later on 26 September 1860. The design of the current flag was finalized in 1900 with the addition of the coat of arms in the center of the flag. Before using the yellow, blue and red tricolor, Ecuador's former flag had three light blue stripes and two white stripes with three white stars for each province of the country. The design of the flag is very similar to those of Colombia and Venezuela, which are also former constituent territories of Gran Colombia. All three are based on a proposal by Venezuelan General Francisco de Miranda, which was adopted by Venezuela in 1811 and later Gran Colombia with some modifications. There is a variant of the flag that does not contain the coat of arms that is used by the merchant marine. This flag matches Colombia's in every aspect, but Colombia uses a different design when her merchant marine ships are at sail.
The national flag of Lebanon is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is twice the height (width) of the red ones —a Spanish fess. The green cedar in the middle touches each of the red stripes and its width is one third of the width of the flag. The red stripes represent the blood shed by those who fought for Lebanon. The white stripe represents purity, peace and the snow-capped mountains of Lebanon. The cedar on the flag represents the citizens of Lebanon.
The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field, identical to the flag of England except with the Union Flag in the upper canton.
The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida, United States, most years since 1904. The centerpiece of the festivities is the Parade of Pirates, which is framed as a friendly invasion by the crew of the mythical pirate José Gaspar, a popular figure in Florida folklore. The Parade of Pirates is often referred to as the Gasparilla Parade by locals, and the date of the event is known as Gasparilla Day.
José Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla, is a fictional Spanish pirate who terrorized the Gulf of Mexico from his base in southwest Florida during Florida's second Spanish period. Though details about his early life, motivations, and piratical exploits differ in various tellings, they agree that the 'Last of the Buccaneers" was a remarkably active pirate who amassed a huge fortune by taking many prizes and ransoming many hostages during his long career and that he died by leaping from his ship rather than face capture by the U.S. Navy, leaving behind his still-hidden treasure.
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 modern history of Tampa, Florida, can be traced to the founding of Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in today's downtown in 1824, soon after the United States had taken possession of Florida from Spain. The outpost brought a small population of civilians to the area, and the town of Tampa was first incorporated in 1855.
Plant Field was the first major athletic multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was built in 1899 by Henry B. Plant on the grounds of his Tampa Bay Hotel to host various events and activities for guests, and it consisted of a large field ringed by an oval race track flanked by a large covered grandstand on the western straightaway with portable seating used to accommodate a wide variety of uses. Over the ensuing decades, Plant Field drew Tampa residents and visitors to see horse racing, car racing, baseball games, entertainers, and politicians. The stadium also hosted the first professional football and first spring training games in Tampa and was the long-time home of the Florida State Fair.
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.
