 | |
| 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 municipal flag of Buffalo is the official banner of the city of Buffalo, New York. The navy blue flag 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 national flag of Switzerland displays a white cross in the centre of a square red field. The white cross is known as the Swiss cross or the federal cross. Its arms are equilateral, and their ratio of length to width is 7:6. The size of the cross in relation to the field was set in 2017 as 5:8. Alongside the flag of Vatican City, the Swiss flag is one of only two square national flags in the world.
The flag of the United States Territory of Guam was adopted on February 9, 1948. The territorial flag is a dark blue field with a narrow red border on all sides. The red border – a later addition – represents the blood spilled during World War II and earlier Spanish sovereignty. In the center of the flag is the Seal of Guam; almond in shape, it depicts a proa sailing in Hagåtña Bay near Hagåtña, and GUAM in red letters. The shape of the emblem recalls the slingshot stones used by ancient Chamorro people. The landform in the background depicts the Two Lovers Point cliff on the northern edge of Tumon. Charles Alan Pownall, the military Governor of Guam, approved the design in 1948.
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 coat of arms of Birmingham City Council was granted in 1977 and includes various elements related to the area the council governs: the metropolitan borough of Birmingham in the county of the West Midlands, England.
The flag of Great Britain, commonly known as King's Colours, the first Union Flag, the Union Jack, or the British flag, was used at sea from 1606 and more generally from 1707 to 1801. It was the first flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain. It is the precursor to the Union Jack of 1801.
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.
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus.
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 coat of arms of the city of Victoria was granted in 1962, and then subsequently registered with the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 2005. While the city employs a logo for common use, the arms are reserved for legal documents and for more historical or traditional purposes and events.
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".
A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasingly during the age of the Crusades. Many cross variants were developed in the classical tradition of heraldry during the late medieval and early modern periods. Heraldic crosses are inherited in modern iconographic traditions and are used in numerous national flags.
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.
The 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 of Springfield, Massachusetts has two official symbols, and is also often represented by depictions of the Municipal Group as a de facto emblem of its government.
The flag of Austin is the official municipal flag of Austin, Texas. The flag simply 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 Columbus is the official municipal flag of Columbus, Ohio. Its current design 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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