The Seal of Louisville is an emblem used as a visual representation for the city of Louisville, Kentucky. Among other reasons, the seal is used to stamp documents to certify their authenticity. The city had four seals from its formation in 1828 to 2003 before its merger with the Jefferson County, Kentucky government and creating a new joint seal, which was designed during a citywide competition by Louisville native and art director William Glenn Hack.
The first seal established in 1828 had a steamboat ascending the falls heading to a wharf laden with boxes and bales. It was engraved with the words "City of Louisville" at the top and "Perseverando" at the bottom. Perseverando was said to mean "By Persevering" and was a part of the city motto "Industry and punctuality by persevering." This seal would be used until May 6, 1861, when the city council would approve a new seal. [1] The new seal would be inspired by the emergence of the steam locomotive and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. [2] It entailed a locomotive with the words "Progress" included.
The second seal would remain in place for forty-nine years before the year 1910 when citizens started to feel that the locomotive became an outdated symbol for progress. Consequently, the Louisville Convention and Publicity League held a contest to design a new seal. John T. Bauscher won with the design featuring a lady holding a banner with the word "progress" on it in one hand and the other hand overflowing with cornucopia. [2] A train and steamboat were on the sides of her and a tall building was depicted in the background with the words "The Nation's Thorough-fare" on it. This third seal was enacted on December 21, 1910, by the city council. [1]
On November 25, 1953, a new seal designed by Austrian typographer Victor Hammer was adopted following mayor Charles Farnsley's campaign for a simpler seal. [2] [3] This seal was based on the city's origin of its name by implementing three fleur-de-lis in a triangle in the center representing a century of history for each. [2] They were surrounded by thirteen stars representing the original states of the nation and the year 1778 marking the first settlements of the Louisville area. The fleur-de-lis meaning "Lily Flower" was the symbol of King Louis XVI of France, the namesake for Louisville. [1]
The current seal used represents Louisville and Jefferson County following the merger of the governments on January 6, 2003. The seal reads "Louisville – Jefferson County" in a circle around a single fleur-de-lis with two stars and includes the year 1778 (the year Louisville was founded) on both sides. This seal was designed during a citywide competition by Louisville native and art director William Glenn Hack.
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city, although by population density, it is the 265th most dense city. Louisville is the historical county seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys, is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily. Most notably, the fleur-de-lis (⚜️) is depicted on the traditional coat of arms of France that was used from the High Middle Ages until the French Revolution in 1792, and then again in brief periods in the 19th century. This design still represents France and the House of Bourbon in the form of marshalling in the arms of Spain, Quebec, and Canada — for example.
Indian Hills is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,860 as of the 2020 census. Indian Hills and the nearby cities of Mockingbird Valley, Glenview, and Anchorage have been cited as Louisville's most prosperous suburbs since the mid-20th century. Indian Hills was among the nation's highest-income places as of the 2000 U.S. census.
The Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the official seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. The state flag of Virginia consists of the obverse of the seal against a blue background. A state flag was first adopted at the beginning of the American Civil War in April 1861, readopted in 1912, and standardized by the General Assembly in February 1950. The standing allegorical female figure of virtue is shown having vanquished tyranny, symbolized by a fallen king at her feet. She has an exposed breast in the manner of classical depictions of Amazons, making this the only state flag in the U.S. depicting a form of toplessness. The motto Sic semper tyrannis means "Thus always to tyrants." The flag may be decorated with a white fringe along the fly edge; this is usually done when the flag is displayed indoors.
Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west. As of 2015, the population of downtown Louisville was 4,700, although this does not include directly surrounding areas such as Old Louisville, Butchertown, NuLu, and Phoenix Hill.
The history of Louisville, Kentucky spans nearly two-and-a-half centuries since its founding in the late 18th century. The geology of the Ohio River, with but a single series of rapids midway in its length from the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers to its union with the Mississippi, made it inevitable that a town would grow on the site. The town of Louisville, Kentucky was chartered there in 1780. From its early days on the frontier, it quickly grew to be a major trading and distribution center in the mid-19th century and an important industrial city in the early 20th. The city declined in the mid-20th century, but by the late 20th, it was revitalized as a culturally-focused mid-sized American city.
The city of Louisville, Kentucky used two flags: the original design paid homage to Louis XVI of France and the thirteen states present when the city was founded, and the current design was adopted in 2003 when the city merged with Jefferson County, Kentucky.
The flag of Detroit was designed in 1907 by David E. Heineman and was officially adopted as the city's flag in 1948. Its design has been slightly altered several times in the years since, the most recent in 2000.
The Kentucky Railway Museum, now located in New Haven, Kentucky, United States, is a non-profit railroad museum dedicated to educating the public regarding the history and heritage of Kentucky's railroads and the people who built them. Originally created in 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, the museum is at its third location, in extreme southern Nelson County. It is one of the oldest railroad stations in the United States.
The coat of arms of Alabama depicts a shield upon which is carried the symbols of the five states which have at various times held sovereignty over a part or the whole of what is now Alabama. These are the ancient coat of arms of France, the ancient coat of arms of Crown of Castile for Spain, the modern Union Jack of the United Kingdom and the battle flag of the Confederate States. On an escutcheon of pretence is borne the shield of the United States. The crest of the coat represents a ship which brought the French colonists who established the first permanent European settlements in the territory. Below is the state motto: Audemus jura nostra defendere, meaning "We dare defend our rights."
The Fleur de Lis Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares age three and older over a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles on the dirt run annually in late-June or early-July at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Louisville Board of Aldermen was the legislative branch of government for the City of Louisville prior to its merger with Jefferson County in 2003. It comprised twelve wards.
The Louisville Falls Fountain was a fountain that floated in the Ohio River off the shore of downtown Louisville, intended to be a major tourist attraction for Louisville, Kentucky. Purported to be the tallest floating fountain in the world, it spouted 15,800 gallons of water per minute upward in the shape of a fleur-de-lis.
The Louisville Metro Council is the city council of Louisville, Kentucky. It was formally established in January 2003 upon the merger of the former City of Louisville with Jefferson County and replaced the city's Board of Aldermen and the county's Fiscal Court. Louisville City Hall houses the offices and chambers of the council.
Kentucky Country Day (KCD) is an independent co-educational college preparatory day school for junior kindergarten through 12th grade located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is located in northeastern Jefferson County on a large suburban campus.
The government of Louisville, Kentucky, headquartered at Louisville City Hall in Downtown Louisville, is organized under Chapter 67C of the Kentucky Revised Statutes as a First-Class city in the state of Kentucky. Created after the merger of the governments of Louisville, Kentucky and Jefferson County, Kentucky, the city/county government is organized under a mayor-council system. The Mayor is elected to four-year terms and is responsible for the administration of city government. The Louisville Metro Council is a unicameral body consisting of 26 members, each elected from a geographic district, normally for four-year terms. The Mayor is limited to a two consecutive term limit, while members of the Louisville Metro Council are not term limited.
Louisville City Hall is a registered historic building in Louisville, Kentucky, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Completed in 1873 to house the Louisville city government, the structure is located at 601 West Jefferson Street in what became Downtown Louisville, the center of the city's civic district.
The Louisville Metro Hall is the center of Louisville, Kentucky's government. It currently houses the Mayor's Office and the Jefferson County Clerk's Office for marriage licensing, delinquent tax filings, and the deeds room. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Construction began in 1836, and both the City of Louisville and Jefferson County governments starting using it in 1842.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the United States Commonwealth of Kentucky:
The flag of New Orleans contains a large white field that contains three gold fleurs-de-lis and is bordered on the top by a red stripe and from below by a blue stripe. The presence of the fleur-de-lis, a stylized depiction of a flower and a traditional French symbol demonstrates the city's French heritage and strong ties to France, while the presence of the design being a Spanish fess demonstrates the city's Spanish heritage and strong ties to Spain.
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